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-AND THE BEST MODES OF- 




SUBDUING - WILD ^- AMD ^^ VICIOUS - HOR 



WITH A NUMBER OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
3IIOWING APPLIANCES, ANP THE HORSE IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS. 



Jlnterecl according to Act of Congress, in the year 181)0, by Jesse Beery, of Pleasant 
Hilli Ohio, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. G. 



PRESS OF 
^ THE PARMENTER PRINTING CO., 

/0-, i>v LIMA,^OHIO. 



iHTRODUCTIOf^f. 



My object in publisliing this book, is to teach persons who desire to learn, how to 
properly train a Colt, and give some practical points and ideas how to subdue and edu- 
cate Horses that have acquired bad habits; viz: Kicking, Balking, Shying, Running 
away, Halter pulling, and vices of every description, that Horses are so liable to fall 
into when they are improperly handled. 

The brutish man whose coarse nature makes him desire to beat, jerk, kick, swear 
at, and otherwise ill treat his Horse, will find nothing in this book to encourage him 
to continue his brutal treatment, and will therefore not find anything to interest or 
profit him. The only hope I have of that man is, that I may sell him a book (at the 
regular price) and that the book will fall into the bauds of his sons, and that they 
will know more at sixteen than their father at forty; and thus save many a Colt 
abuse and from being worthless. 



4 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

The plan I use in teaching my System of Colt Training and demonstrating the 
different methods of subduing vicious Horses is as follows: I have a tent that will 
accommodate over three hundred people. I usually set it up at some town where 
there are a good many horse owners in the community. I then take a green Colt 
(one that never had a bridle on) of some one of the scholars, and give it its first, 
second, third, fourth and fifth lessons before the class, to teach the class my System 
of Training, and to show them how fast a Colt will learn, and how well they will 
remember their Training when given short lessons and taught but one idea at a time. 
In connection with teaching my System of Colt Training, I would demonstrate methods 
of subjection upon all kinds of vicious Horses, and if there were any extremely ugly, 
bad Horses in the country, those were the ones that were brought out for treatment. 

These are only object lessons for you, to learn how to do it you must do it your- 
self. It is the purpose of this book by short and clear directions, and by the illustra- 
tions, to aid you in putting into practice what you learn and have seen me do. 

To profit by what you learn you must necessarily put your learning into prac- 
tice. The man who can read and write, and does not read and write, is only equal 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 5 

to him who cannot read and write. If you learn how to educate a Horse, you and the 
Horse will not be benefited unless you educate him. But if you teach and educate 
him properly, he is the more willing, and at the same time more valuable slave, and 
you a happier and wealthier man. The Horse is a slave, and his value depends on 
his docility, willingness, ready obedience, beauty, speed, strength, and endurance, in 
about the order named. 

A Horse can only be taught words of command by associating them with an 
action, as we only have the whip and lines as the principal means for teaching the 
commands necessary for him to know. If he has confidence in his master, and under- 
stands what he wants of him, he will be ready and willing to obey every command 
that is given him. But if you say Whoa! when you want him to go slower, when 
you don't want him to scare, when you say Whoa! while the horse is standing per- 
fectly quiet, how is he to tell what Whoa! means? Is it strange that you shout and 
yell "Whoa!" in vain when the horse is frightened and you in danger? 

How can you tell what a politician means by "public policy" when he uses it 
on all occasions and for all sorts of purposes? 



6 JESSE beery' 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

Nearly all men that keep tractable and well trained Horses, are good, kind heart- 
ed men, men who never lie to their Horses or deceive them by giving commands in 
a manner that they cannot be understood. I believe that it will not be saying too much 
for my experience and observation, that in a number of instances I can tell the dis- 
position of a Horse by looking at the man that owns the Horse. 

With these few suggestions and observations I put forth this little manual, fond- 
ly hoping that it will benefit both Horse and his owner wherever it may be read. 

Very Truly, JESSE BEERY. 



CHAPTER I. 
COLT TRAINING. 

Fear is the principal power which causes the Colt to resist training. It is natu- 
ral for him to kick against an unknown object at his heels, to pull his head out of the 
halter as from a trap, and if of a bad diBposition, to strike and bite if he does not 
thoroughly understand you. His fear is governed by his sense of touch, sight and 
hearing; and it is through these senses we obtain a mastery, and at the same time 
remove his fears of the halter, the robe, the harness and the wagon. These are the 
fixed laws which govern the actions of all Horses, and the training of a Colt is merely 
teaching him not to fear the working apparatus, yet to fear and respect his master, 
and to obey his commands as soon as he has learned their meaning. Each one of 
these senses must be educated before the Colt is trained. A Colt's education may be 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 9 

compared with that of a child, to a great extent. A Horse is, of course, a dumb 
brute, and his reasoning powers are limited to his past experience; so we must reason 
with him by acts alone. Hence the importance of beginning every step with the Colt 
right; for by our acts he learns. The successful school master aims first to teach the 
child to have confidence in him. Hence the first lesson we give the Colt is simply 
to teach it to have confidence in us, and that we are its best friend, and don't intend 
to hurt it. 

FIRST LESSON. 

Turn it loose in an inclosure about twenty -five feet in diameter, (I prefer a barn 
floor or large carriage house, having vehicles and all obstacles removed,) take an 
ordinary buggy whip in your right hand, and go into the enclosure with the Colt, 
Snap the whip a few times; the colt will run to get away from you; when it finds it is 
penned up and can not get away, it will then look to you for protection. Then 
approach the colt quietly; if he turns his heels to kick you or run away from you, 
give him a crack with the whip around the hind limbs; follow this up until he will 



10 JESSE BEERY 'S PKACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

keep his head towards you, then throw the whip under the left arm and step for- 
ward and caress him on the shoulder; handing him a little oats, corn, or apple, will 
assist greatly in winning his confidence. (However, I prefer to use nothing but 
caresses on the point of the shoulder.) 

In following the above directions, you will find that your wildest colts will follow 
you like a dog, in twenty or thirty minutes; which I claim is the most important les- 
son given the Colt. 

SECOND LESSON. 

Take it into the inclosure, put on it an open bridle with straight bar bit, and no 
rein; next, put on a surcingle or the skeleton part of the harness, and run the lines 
through the shaft-bearers of the harness. 

This brings the lines below the hips, which will prevent the Colt turning its 
head towards you; now you are in a position to teach the Colt the use of the bit, and 
also the command, "Get Up." The first five or ten minutes allow the Colt to go 
about as it pleases, then begin to draw on the lines a little, and teach it to turn to the 




BOW TO TEACH THE COLT TO FOLLOW. 







TEACHING COLT THE USE OF BIT, 



JESSE BBERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 13 

right and left. When you want the Colt to start, use nothing but the words "Get 
Up!" "Horses can only be taught AVords of Command by associating the command 
^with an action." Hence whenyou say "Get Up" to the green horse, you must givehira 
tap with the whip just as you give the command. He will soon start when he hears 
I'Get Up" to avoid the stroke. Consequently learns the true meaning of the com- 
itiand. This lesson you should teach nothing but the words "Get Up," and the use 
o| the bit. The great mistake that most men make in breaking their Colts is, 
they try to teach too many things at once. A Colt will learn more in one hour per 
day, than it will in six hours, or any longer length of time. Make their lesson short 
and teach but One Thing at a time. But what you do teach, have it thoroughly 
understood. ' 

THIRD LESSON. 

In this lesson we give the Colt a repetition of bitting, and teach the word Whoa! 
We will presume that the trainer has not said Whoa to the Colt up to this time, (but 
I have no doubt that he has said it five hundred times before he gets to the third 
lesson.) You could say Whoa! to the Colt until you were gray headed without assO' 



14 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

ciating an action, and that would never teach it to stop at the word. The first time 
you say Whoa! to the Colt be sure that you are in a position to associate an action 
in order to teach it the meaning of the command. Just as you give the command 
Whoa! give a sharp raking pull with the lines; then immediately slack the lines; repeat 
until he will stop at command without the action; then you will have him taught 
the right meaning of Whoa! 

This word Whoa, is the most important command that we have in horseman- 
ship; yet there is no other command that is so much abused. It is the habit of almost 
everybody, when handling Colts or Horses, to be continually using Whoa, Ho! Ho!, 
without any meaning whatever. If you want a horse to obey your commands, you 
must never lie to him or deceive him by giving commands when you don't intend for 
him to obey them. I dwell upon this command because of its importance. Quite 
frequently your lives may depend on a hearty Whoa! I can truly say that in my 
experience of handling Colts and vicious Horses, that my life would have been at 
stake hundreds of times, had it not been for having a well understood Whoa upon my 
horses. If you are careful in teaching this command, and practice firmness in two or 




>. ,// 






TEACHING THE COLT WHOA! 



16 JESSE BEERY's practical system colt of TRA1NINC4. 

three lessons, you will have a horse that will stop at the word Whoa imder all circum- 
stances and in any excitenient. 

FOURTH LESSON. 

Give this lesson yet in the inclosure, as we have a number of advantages of the 
Colt that we would not have out side. 

First: If the Colt wants to act stubborn and tries to get away from us, we can 
control it much quicker and easier than we otherwise could. . 

Secondly: There are not so many objects to take the Colt's attention. A Horse 
can think of but one thing at a time. The school teacher can not teach his pupils 
anything while they are looking out the window, neither can you teach the (-olt any- 
thing while he is trying to get to other stock, or having his attention attracted by 
chickens, or a bit of paper flying up about him. While you have the Colt in the 
building or inclosed lot you are not annoyed with the many things that are liable to 
take the Colt's attention out side. Persons who have not tried training their Colts in 
a building or limited inclosure will be agreeably surprised to see how much more con- 
trol they will have, and how much easier Colts can be broken in this manner than in 



JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 17 

a field or on the road. In this lesson elevate the head a little and teach it the use of 
therein, but never rein the Colt high, Give it a repetition of "Bitting," "Get 
Upv and "Whoa;" then you should proceed to make all parts of the Colt gentle, as 
folloKvs: Take a light pole about six feet long, and permit the Colt to feel of it with 
his "'fingers, "(his nosej bring it gently back over the mane and down the front limbs, 
back over the back and against his quarters. If the Horse gets excited at any time, 
let him feel of the j^ole again; commence in front and go back again until he becomes 
perfectly indifferent to having the quarters touched with the pole. 

It will not require over ten or fifteen minutes to do this poling. You will be 
surprised at the effect it will have on the Colt, especially Colts of a wild, nervous 
disposition; thereby makiug it gentle to have the harness, chains, or even the cross- 
pieces of the shafts to come against the quarters, or to be touched on any other })art 
of the body. 

fifth lesson. 

You should take the Colt on the road and give it a repetition of the previous les- 
sons; at first it will act as though it had not been tauglit any thing, but a little firm- 




v.r ''"-"■— "'---^^e's 



POLING THE COLT. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 19 

ness will make it as gentle and obedient outside as it was in the enclosure. Now you 
have a good foundation laid for driving. Next familiarize the Colt with the vehicle, 
by having an assistant pull the vehicle around a few times behind the Colt, and allow 
it to feel of it, and examine it according to his own way of reasoning. I would ad- 
vise hitching the Colt single first, and he will be no trouble to drive double. 

However, you may use your own pleasure about that; but under all circumstan- 
ces give the above lessons first. If you wanted to teach a dog to drive cattle, you 
wouldn't get an old dog that would run in front of the cows and chase them wherever 
you didn't want them; nine chances out of ten, the young dog would be like the old 
one. It would be natural for him to learn more from the old dog than he would 
from your teachings. For that reason I prefer to educate the Colt by itself. It is 
very common for a man to hitch his Colt first, without any training at all, by the 
side of an old farm Horse that is lazy, possibly blind in one eye, and so old that he is 
listless. When you have this nervous, excitable Colt harnessed by the side of the old 
slow Horse, you then take your lines and ask your team to go. The Colt plunges 
ahead; the old Horse having spent many days in the harness, takes life very easy and 




AS TIIJE COLT WH,L STAND AJ-'TKR ONCE BEJNG . TOJ^ED, 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 21 

gradually gets in motion. The Colt comes back, and the load don't move. The next 
time you ask them to go the old Horse moves ahead, the Colt sets himself back in the 
breeching. Now you are in a good position to teach your Colt to balk. If you will 
take the Colt away from the old Horse, and teach him by our system of training to 
drive single first, you will have no trouble to drive him double. The first time you 
hitch the Colt up, if it is wild or inclined to be doubtful, it is advisable to use a single 
foot strap: buckle a foot strap with a ring in it, around the off front foot below the 
fetlock joint; next take a half inch cotton ro])e, fifteen feet long with a snap on one 
end, have a ring in the belly-baud of your harness; run the snap through the ring at 
the girth, down through the ring in foot strap, up, and snap into the ring attached to 
belly-baud. You then have a double purchase on the colt's front limb. If it wants 
to get away or turn around, draw on your rope and you will have him on three 
legs. You can easily control him when you have him on three legs. 

After these lessons have been given, you are ready for driving the Colt, Your 
next work will be to familiarize the Colt to objects of fear. The first time your Colt 
gets frightened at a stohe, stump, or anything else that might be along the road side, 










SHOWING THE WORKING OF OUR SINGLE FOOT STRAP, 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 23 

be sure that you take him right up to it and allow him to examine, feel of it with 
his nose, and be convinced that the object is harmless. In order to do this success- 
fully, you should talk to the Colt, something like this: Take care! Look out! Be easy, 
It will not hurt you. Walk right up to it, Sir! and after he has walked up to it say 
Whoa! and allow him to stand by it until it ceases to attract his attention. If you 
will practice this for the first three or four drives upon every occasion, you wil be 
surprised to see the effect it will have on your Colt. After that, if your Colt would 
happen to get scared at any thing, as soon as it hears your voice it will want to go 
right up to the object that it was frightened at without even the use of lines. 

It would be almost fatal to success to allow the colt to resist at any time through 
carelessness, as it would make him very cunning and doubtful, which would require 
very careful management to overcome. Give the Colt four or five drives with an 
open vehicle, and then you can get it use to a top buggy about as follows: before 
you hitch him up allow him to feel of the top with his nose, next take your lines out 
of the terete rings and ran them through the thill straps of the harness; get behind 
him and drive him with the lines, while you have an assistant walk by your side 



24 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

with au umbrella, opening it just a little at a time, or as much as the Colt will bear 
without exciting fear; drive the Colt around in this manner until he Avill bear the 
umbrella carried behind him wide open, without causing any fear. You may now 
hitch it to the buggy with the top down, and while driving, test him again with the 
umbrella; if he shows much fear of it while hitched up, you can use the single foot 
strap. After he becomes perfectly indifferent to having the umbrella open behind 
him, you may next have your assistant raise the top by degrees. You will find that 
after the umbrella test, he will pay but little attention to the top. We use the 
umbrella first because it is easier to raise and lower than the top. All of this process 
should not require more than twenty or thirty minutes when properly done . Once 
getting your Colt accustomed to having the l(tp behind it, always done, and he will 
never show any fear of it afterwards. Continue driving and teaching the Colt for 
fifteen or twenty days, one hour per day, and at the expiration of that time you will 
have all of these early impresions thoroughly fixed upon the brain; so that your Colt 
could stand in the stable a month, or even six months, and it would not forget its 
education. In fact it would never forget its early training. Early impressions are 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 25 

strong and lasting in the Horse as well as in man. Who is there among men that 
does not well remember things that he was taught while young; and the impressions 
that were made then are seldom, if ever forgotten. It is the same with the Horse. 
No animal has memory equal to that of a Horse. Hence the importance of giving 
him a systematic coui-se of handling. Men as a rule have too little patience in the 
training of their Colts, and they very often expect to accomplish more in a short time 
than can possibly be performed. Yet it is surprising to see Avhat a short time it requires 
to break a Colt according to this system, when we measure the time by days. Suppose 
that in training a Colt we were to spend one hour per day for twenty days, which 
would be as long as should be needed. Compute the time at ten hours per day, you 
will find that my whole Colt training system amounts to but two days time. You 
would then have a well trained Horse, a Colt that would know more, and be more 
tractable than your ordinarily broken horses at the age of six years. There is no 
farmer or horse raiser that could employ his time more profitably, than to follow this 
system in educating his Colts. It would enhance their value at least thirty or forty 
dollars, for there is no reasonable person that would not give thirty or forty dollars 
more for a, horse properly trained than for one that was not tractable and safe. 



CHAPTER II. 
SLIBJECTION. 



All vicious habits and vices have been learned and acquired from previous con- 
tests. A Colt that breaks its halter, kicks itself loose, or scares you out by fighting, 
will try it again with increased zeal. He has now learned how to do it. Do not let 
them begin, but if they should, take it out of them before you stop. You must con- 
quer them or they will you. There is no partnership in the matter; you must be 
master, and yet you must do it by firmness, patience and perseverence. There are 
no advantages gained by the brutal use of the whip. There are advantages enough 
to be taken of the Colt, which will soon cause him to yield, because he finds himself 
powerless against you . The first principles involved in managing unruly or vicious 
Horses, are to show them that we are master, and to do this we must use coercive 



JESSY BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 27 

treatment in order to subdue the Horse. We have several direct methods of sub- 
jection, and also a number of indirect methods. The first method that I shall 
describe, will be the method of disabling and throwing. To throw a Horse, you 
should have on him a good, strong halter, with nose piece coming rather low down 
on the nose; next have a surcingle three inches wide, with two rings directly on top 
of the back; one on the front part of the surcingle, the other on the back part; attach 
two more rings about five inches lower, to the off side in the same manner. The 
rings attached to the back part of the surcingle are for the straps attached to the 
crupper. Take a hitching strap about eight feet long, snap it into the front ring on 
top of the back, bring the end on off side of neck through halter ring, back through 
ring on off side of back. Next have a leg strap, and strap up near front foot. You 
then stand on off side of the Horse, take hold of the halter with your right hand, and 
the end of strap with your left hand. Now you are in the first position to throw 
the Horse. 

Draw his head around to his side, take the slack of the strap up with left hand, 
and hold strap and halter with right hand. If he is inclined to rear, whirl him 










FIRST POSITION TAKKN TO TIIKOU A llOltSE. 




SKrOND POSITION IN LAYINU THJi HORSE DOWN, 



80 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING, 

around a few times, and press in at his shoulder, he will come down on his knee and 
will go over with a rolling motion on his side. By keeping hold of the end of the 
strap, you can prevent the Horse jumping up; then while holding the strap have your 
assistant rattle tin pans, sleigh bells, and all the other rackets that you can get hold 
of. There is nothing that takes the conceit out of a Horse quicker than to lay him 
down, or deprive him of his strength. We can get three-fourths of the Horses under 
control with this method. Horses that can not be subdued with this method are more 
likely to be cold blooded, sullen horses, that will fall down and lay there without fight- 
ing the treatment. Horses of that kind, you will have to apply other methods of 
subjection. 

This method is more especially adapted to Horses that will resist, and fight the 
treatment hard. If the Horse is sensitive about the tail, quarters, or feet, take a 
light pole and touch the quarters and feet while you have him down, until there is no 
resistence shown by the muscles becoming relaxed. Then allow him to get up, and 
repeat the handling or poling until submitted to on his feet. After being thrown to 
the extent of making him lie down submissively, it will do no good to repeat the 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 31 

treatment. In subduing a horse with this method, the main point is to make the 
horse work hard; keep him fighting steady until he gives up the contest. Usually 
they will give up in from half to three quarters of an hour. After they become 
submissive, it is very important that you treat them with the greatest of kindness, in 
order to fix the impression, and teach them that we are masters; and not only masters, 
but a kind friend to them. This method is better to be used in connection with 
other methods of subjection. 

The next best method of subduing vicious Horses is by the use of the "Double 
Safety Rope." This is undoubtedly the best means of control that has ever been 
devised, of which the appliances used are few, simple, and easy to manipulate. 
Have two rings about five inches apart in the bottom of your surcingle, or girth of 
your harness. Buckle a foot strap with a ring in it around each front limb, below 
the fetlock joint; then take a half inch cotton rope eighteen feet long with a snap in 
one end. Run the snap through ring in surcingle, down through ring at ofP front 
foot, up through other ring in surcingle, down and snap in ring on near foot. This 
gives you a double purchase upon each front limb. Carry this rope back past the 




POSITION WHEN THE HORSE IS POWN, 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 33 

quarters on off side. Have rings low down on surcingle at each side for the lines to 
pass through, as in Colt training. Next take the rope and whip in right hand, and 
lines iu left. Now give him the command to go, and when you are ready for him to 
stop, say "Whoa," and pull the Safety Rope at the same time. This will bring him 
to his knees. 

You should always have good knee pads on him, so that when you bring him to 
his knees it will not hurt him. In from thirty to forty minutes you can subdue the 
most vicious Horse with this Double Safety Rope. The next method of subjection that 
I shall describe, will be pressure on the spinal cord, or passive treatment. It is well 
known that by hitting a Horse at a certain point back of the ear, it is easy to knock him 
down. At the back part of the head, or just back of the ears, there is about an inch 
of the spinal cord that is not covered with bone. If a knife would be stuck in at this 
point sufficiently to penetrate it, it would cause instant death. By bringing gentle 
but firm pressure upon this part, you have one of the most safe and reliable methods 
known. It is especially fitted to certain dispositions and vices, very often making it 
easy to subdue Horses upon which other methods would fail. Hdwever it is a meth' 







)IJ ^•.<Si//^, 






SHOWING PBINCIPLE OP DOUBLE SAFETY ROPE. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. S5 

od that must be used with great care and judgment. It is our best method for 
Horses bad to shoe, as it can be applied right in the shop. It is also good in the 
management of bad balkers. This appliance consist of a roll to be put in the mouth, 
and attached to a strap to go over the top of the head, and fastened with a buckle on 
near side. The roll should be made of leather and stuffed with flax seed. Make it 
about an inch in diameter. 

Put the roll in the mouth, bring the strap over the head just back of the ears, 
draw down tight and buckel. The principle involved, is that the greater the strength 
oE will and power ot" resistance on the part of the Horse, the more pressure should 
be used and the longer it must be left on. In no case, if put ®n very tight, should it 
be left on longer than thirty minutes. While the average time for ordinary cases 
should not be longer than ten to fifteen minutes. Success will now depend upon the 
advantage taken while using this treatment, as it will do but little good to put on 
pressure and do nothing more. If the Horse is nervous and touchy, you should take 
a pole and bring it against the quarters and sensitive parts, until he will submit to 
being touched and handled as you please. The main point of observation now should 



36 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

be the expression of the Horse's eyes and ears. When he quits resisting, and the 
eye seems to soften as if going to sleep, and he begins to sweat quite freely, it is a sure 
sign of unconditional submission, and it would be abusive to keep on pressure any longer. 
The above indication will be noticeable in all cases, and when noticed, the pressure 
should be removed at once. A type of Horses that this method should not be used 
on, are cold blooded or sullen Horses, neither should it be used upon unbroken Colts; 
in fact I wouldn't advise much severity in the management of any Colt. The less 
excitement and punishment used in their treatment the better. 

I have described several of the best and most direct methods of subjection, and will 
explain further on how to apply them, and the necessary modifications of the differ- 
ent methods. Next will come a few indirect methods of control. If' you have a Horse 
that is afraid of a robe, an umbrella, bad to shoe, or any similar vice, the use of a cord 
bridle would be all that would be necessary to control him with. While I do not 
personally approve of the use of cord bridles, unless used by men of good judgment, 
yet when they are properly used it is surprising to see what they will do for us in a 
short time. With a little practice they will be found a very valuable means of con- 
trol. For that reason I will describe a few cord bridles. 




'FIRST POEM WAR BRIDLE 



38 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

For the simplest form of cord bridle, or First form War bridle: take a piece of 
the best kind of cord, five sixteenths of an inch in diameter, and fifteen feet long, 
(hard woven sash cord is the best to be used for these bridles) tie a knot in each end, 
make a stationary loop around the neck, bring down on off side, through the mouth, 
and back through the stationary loop; you then have a bridle that gives you friction 
in the Horse's mouth. If you have a Horse with a very blunt mouth, or is stubborn 
to lead, give a few pulls with this bridle, right and left, and you will soon make his 
mouth sensitive to an easy bit, or make him follow you readily without any restraint 
on his head. 

To make a modification of First form: pass it over the head just back of ears, 
through the mouth, then through the last cord on near side. When there is more 
power desired than for First form War bridle, this modification will be very applica- 
ble. 

To make a Second form War bridle: make a stationary loop around the lower 
jaw, rather tight, bring the cord from off side, over the head just back of ears, down 
on near side, through the loop at jaw. This bridle gives you power sideways and 




MODIFICATION OF FIRST FORM WAR BRIDLE. 




EXCELSIOR BRim,E. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 41 

forwards. It is very good to teach a Colt or a Horse that has a sensitive mouth, 
to lead or follow, as the part in the mouth works about an inch below the bit; hence 
it does not efEect the sensitive part of the mouth. The real power we get from this 
bridle is pressure on the spinal cord. 

Excelsior bridle : make a stationary loop around the Horse's lower jaw, rather loose, 
bring it over the middle of the neck from off side, pass down through the loop on 
near side, bring over the bead just back of the ears, down through mouth, under up- 
per lip, above upper jaw, and through the cord above loop. This bridle can be used 
in controlling a Horse that is afraid of uml)rellas and robes, bad to shoe', etc. If he 
is afraid of steam, you can lead him right up to it and hold him there with this pow- 
erful bridle, until you can convince him that steam will not hurt him. I will say 
more about these cord bridles latter on. 

Another good method of getting a Horse under control that is afraid of shafts, 
or a wild Colt that don't want you to ride him, is to take one hand on the bridle and 
the other one hold of his tail, and whirl him around eight or ten times He will be- 
come so dizzy that he will almost forget he is a Horse, and you can handle him with 







MANNER OJ^ WHIRLING HORSE AROUND. 



JESSY BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 43 

ease. It is sometimes very good for single balkers, as it forces them to move, and 
they cannot tell the difference between going sideways and straight ahead. Hence, 
when you hitch them up, their ideas are so confused and broken up, that when you 
ask them to go they will start right oft'. 



CHAPTER III. 
KICKING. 



I shall first give some of the causes of Horses starting in the habit of kickiug. 
Because a Horse kicks is no reason to think he is naturally bad or unmanageable. 
I claim that there is no Horse born naturally vicious. They are always made that 
way by bad management or ignorant breakers. Of course, I will admit that some 
Horses inherit to some extent the disposition and even inclination to have the ways 
of their ancestors. But we should never undertake to break a Horse without first 
taking into consideration his nature, disposition, and understanding. For instance, if 
we have a Colt that has been badly bred, has long ears, (hairy inside,) narrow be- 
tween the eyes, and dished below the eyes, we know that we have a bad dispositioned 
Colt. Now, if we handle jt according to its bad disposition, we can get it very near? 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 45 

ly 011 an equal with a good dispositioned Horse, all the differeuce being in the man- 
agement and training of the Colt. Remember it will re(|uire much more patience 
and thorough work on a Horse of this kind. 

Nature allows all animals a means of self defense, and it seems she allowed the 
Horse to have its principal means of self defense in its heels. If you are managing 
a Horse and he gets badly excited by some cause, such as having chains or anything 
else coming in contact with his limbs or parts that are unbroken, his first incentive 
is to use his means of defense and kick it out of the way. Kicking is a habit that 
people have more horror and fear of , than any other habit that Horses acquire. The 
habit is acquired nine times out of ten through bad management and ignorant break- 
ers. If the Horse would have been taught according to my system of Colt Training, 
he would have no inclination to kick. When a Colt is broken as ordinarily done, 
and goes off all right the first time he is hitched up, it is taken for granted that he has 
taken all of his education in at one lesson. But should the lines be caught under the 
tail, or the horse get a glimpse of the top over the blinds, or the cross piece of the shafts 
would happen to touch him about the limbs or quarters, these parts being practically 



46 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

unbroken, it would be quite likely to so frighten and excite him as to cause him to go 
to kicking, and once started in the habit there is increased inclination to do so until 
confirmed in the habit. Making one side or part of the Colt or Horse gentle and 
submissive to having anything come in contact with them, will give no assurance in 
having the opposite side, or other parts touched and handled. All members of the 
body must be broken, and make submissive alike. It would only require a very short 
time to make all members of the body entirely indifferent to such causes of contact 
by following our poling process explained in Colt Training; beginning at the nose 
and rubbing the pole over the mane, back, belly, quarters, and all the sensitive parts 
of the body until all the mascles become relaxed. The first thing to be done to break 
a kicking horse, should be to make a good reliable foundation before hitching him 
up, by giving him a complete handling and a thorough course of subjection. The 
best methods for subduing bad kicking horses are by throwing them, and the use of 
the Double Safety Rope. Take the Horse on a soddy piece of ground or in a straw 
yard, and throw him five or six times, according to our way of laying a Horse 
down. Novv while he is down, keep hold of the end of the strap, and have your 




MANNER OF HOLDING A HOKSE DOWN, 







THE HOKSE SUBDUED. 



n-.V/Z/'/^V .V/^ 






JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 49 

attendant throw bufPalo robes, umbrellas and flags over him, and rattle tin pans, 
sleigh bells, beat drums, play horse fiddles, etc., in fact make all the racket you 
can scare up. As he attempts to get up pull on the strap, which will roll him back on 
his side. If he is sensitive about the quarters or heels, take a light pole and rub his 
heels with it, shake tin pans and sleigh bells against his limbs and sensitive parts. 
Show him that he will have to submit. After he submits to all of this racket and 
poling without resisting or trying to get up you can let him on his feet; then put on 
thp Double Safety Rope, as described under Subjection. Take the rope and whip in 
right hand, the lines in the left; give him the command "Get Up," and give him a 
stroke with the whip around the hind limbs close to the body at the same time; if he 
kicks in response, jiull on the rope and bring him to his knees. 

Repeat the command and draw on the rope slightly and he will move forward. 
When you have gone a little ways, say Whoa! and bring him on his knees and hold 
him there a little while. Then slack the rope and let him up. Next, fasten tin 
pans and sleigh bells to the crupper of the surcingle; allow them to hang down about 
to the hock joints, in such a manner as will not hurt the Horse. Now have somebody 
make all the racket and disturbance possible around hin^. 




''^^^^,..»'^>^-■^^^^^, 






MANNER OF HOLDING HOESE ON HIS KNEES. 




. .lU. AW > 



■SlIOAVING HIM THAT HE I'ANNOT KK'K UNDER EXCITEMENT OK ANY KINIJ OF RACKET. 



52 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

And if he tries to kick, bring him to his knees. Make him fight the Double 
Safety Rope hard now, until he submits. Show him that you can master him on his 
feet as well as on his side. After you have him thoroughly warmed up, and he sub- 
mits to all of this unconditionally, you should caress him, and treat him kindly until 
he is cooled off a little; then put him in the stable until next day. Give him one 
lesson a day, similar to the one just described, for three or four days, not making the 
lessons longer than one hour a day . Then you will have tlioroughly taught the Horse 
that you are. his master, and that things liable to frighten him, or cause kicking, are 
entirely harmless. In manipulating this Double Safety Rope, always have leggings or 
knee pads on your Horse' front limbs, and there will be no danger of hurting him. 
If it is a Horse that kicks single, you are now ready to put him in shafts. Put on 
the Double Safety Rope; by having two rings in the belly band of your harness, you 
can use the Double Safety Rope with the harness on, as well as with the surcingle; and 
also apply it after hitched up. Before hitching him up, tie the tugs into the breech- 
ing rings and run the lines through the shaft bearer^, and test him again witli the tin 
pans and sleigh bells hitting his heels, by having them attached to crupper, and dri- 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 53 

ving him around awhile until submissive. Now hitch him up and ask him to go; if 
he tries to kick, pull on the rope and give him the whip, and show him that you can 
master him in shafts as well as out. 

As soon as he becomes gentle, and is willing to go all right, take the appliances 
off and drive him a little while without the rope, and put him away for that day. 

My experience has taught me that it requires from twenty to thirty days to ed- 
ucate a bad confirmed kicker; to fix the impression on the brain so that there will be 
no inclination to repeat the habit; while you may not need to use coercive, or sub- 
jective treatment more than the first four or five lessons, yet it will be absolutely 
necessary to be on your guard, and not allow him to resist at any time. Be ready 
with Double Safety Rope to rebuke wrong, and also, be ready with caresses and kind 
treatment to reward right. Possibly, the horse will make attempts to resist even after 
having given it eight or ten lessons; and if you are careless and not on your guard, 
the horse will get the advantage of you and go to kicking. If we allow the Horse to 
resist after once forcing submission, it will only make him worse than he was before; 
because it gives him increased courage and confidence in himself to know that he can 




THIRD LESSON AFTER SUBJECTION. 



JESSE beery' 8 PK ACTIO AL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 55 

resist after treatment, and in that way make his character doubtful and treacherous: 
Hence the importance of being firm, and not allowing them to resist at all after they 
have been subdued. If you will keep your Horse from resisting, according to my 
system of training for three or four weeks, I will guarantee that he will have but 
very little inclination to kick, and he will bear tests that your supposed gentle Horses 
would not bear; such as driving without hold back straps, tin pans thumping against 
his heels, or stopping at word of command so quick that he would almost slide his 
hind feet. The first thing you do before breaking a kicker, or any other kind of bad 
Horse, you should cut the blinds off of your bridle. I have no use for blinds what- 
ever. 

A Horse's eyes were made for him to see with, therefore let him see; but how 
can he, when he is penned up in a pair of blinders? To illustrate what blinds will 
do, I will relate a circumstance connected with a very bad kicker that I once broke 
privately for a man. After I had her thoroughly educated and made perfectly gentle 
to drive with an open bridle, and she would bear tests that gentle Horses, as ordinar- 
ily broken, would not bear — when I turned her over to the owner, I warned him par- 



56 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

ticularly not to put blinds on her. I I old him to drive her three or four weeks with 
an open bridle; then, if he was determined to have blinds on her, he should bring 
her to me and I would hitch her the first time with blinds; he did so. After he had 
driven her about three weeks, he brought her back and said she was obedient to all 
of the commands that I had taught her, and she was driving perfectly well; but the 
mare had a roman shaped head, and he got the idea into his head that his Horse was 
horribly ugly without blinds, and he would like to use her with blinds. AVell, I put 
blinds on her and hitched her up and asked her to go; she didn't even want to start, 
but she didn't go over two rods until she ran to the side of the road and made such 
signs of kicking that caused us to get out just in time to save a new buggy. Nothing 
caused her to, want to repeat the old habit except the blinds. However, after I gave 
her two or three lessons of subjective treatment with the blinds on, she drove with 
blinds; although he admitted afterwards that she drove better without blinds, than 
with them. I shall say more about blinds further on. T would go out in details of 
management of different cases of confirmed kickers, and give modifications of treat- 
ment, but good judgment and common sense will suggest to you the modifications 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 57 

that might be needed; therefore, I shall not say much more about kickers. If you 
have a Horse that is not confirmed in the habit of kicking, and if he is very sensitive, 
high spirited, and kicks principally from fear, it would be better not to excite, or get 
much heated. About all that would be necessai-y to do, would be to put on the Ex- 
celsior bridle, get him used to the rattle of the wagon, and overcome the sensibility 
of being touched, by our process of poling a Horse. If he is extremely touchy, giv- 
ing him a little oats, or caressing him, will help greatly to make him submissive. No 
matter how severe the previous treatment, when submissive kindness will be absolutely 
necessary in quieting the nervous system. In addition, it tells the Horse by his way 
of reasoning, that the punishment is for kicking, and that he is rewarded for doing 
right. Some men, whatever their experience with Horses, seem to be almost poison 
to Horses; as soon as they get in a Horse's presence, the Horse seems to be unnerved 
and excited. They think all that is necessary is to jerk a Horse around, to subject 
him to treatment as if but a mere machine; then if they fail to get the Horse taught 
any thing, they will attribute the whole trouble to the Horse, as being an excep- 
tionally bad one, while the trouble is with them for not knowing how to reason with 
a dumb brute. 



58 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

In breaking a Horse that kicks when the harness is put on: if he is not very 
bad, simply put on oue of the cord bridles. The First form is a very good one for 
bad to harness; make a stationary looj) around the neck, down through mouth, back 
through loop at neck. Throw the harness on; if he kicks, give him a couple of jerks 
right and left. Now be careful and jerk him right while he is in the act of resisting. 
Repeat putting them on and off a number of times; as he submits, caress and treat 
him kindly. Should it be a Horse confirmed in the habit, and the War bridle is not 
sufficient, use the roll, or pressure on the spinal cord. Have the pressure on from 
fifteen to twenty minutes; put the harness on and off while the roll is on. Repeat 
the handling until he will submit to have the harness thrown from quite a distance 
without having any restraint upon him, and no resistance offered. Three or four 
lessons ought to break the habit, giving oue lessou a day. 

How to break a Horse that is aggressive, and kicks in the stall: in the first 
place you should have good large stalls. Narrow stalls are always an abomination. 
They not only make it difficult to get around doubtful Horses, but they do not give 
the Horse room to step around, lie down and get up. Put the Excelsior Bridle on 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 59 

him, carry the cord back to the back part of the stall. Do not let him know the 
bridle is on until you are ready to use it. Come into the stable, take the end of the 
cord in your hand, and say Get Over! If he makes an attempt to kick you out, give 
him two or three sharp jerks with the cord. Ilepeat for a few times, going in until 
he learns that you are master. As he submits, treat him kindly, as that will be very 
important in teaching the Horse that the punishment was for kicking. In order to 
break both sides of the Horse, you must carry the cord back on the opposite side of 
him and treat it likewise. 

How to manage sensitive Horses, while grooming: the habit of kicking while 
grooming is too often the result of cruel treatment. A sharp curry comb is usually 
raked recklessly over the legs and belly of a sensitive Horse, regardless of the pain it 
causes the Horse. The Horse may bite, kick and almost lie down in his efforts to 
free himself from the pain; probably he will receive punishment for not standing 
quietly. How can you expect him to be quiet under such barbarous treatment? 
Sharp curry combs should never be used on a Horse's limbs or sensitive parts. Al- 
ways use a good brush on the legs and belly of a Horse. 







-^ttJH^J^^^^^is^i*^ v;^"^ 



JiAD TO OROOM. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 61 

After they have become confirmed in the habit of resisting the groom, hold them 
under constraint until you can convince them that you are not going to scratch the 
skin off of them. Put on either of the cord bridles. The First form War bridle 
will be very good. If that is not severe enough, make a modification of tlie same, by 
taking the cord up over head, just back of ears, bring down on olf side, under upper 
lip above upper jaw, and up through last cord that goes over head. You should 
never half way control or subdue a Horse. Nothing short of unconditional submis- 
sion will do any good. Always go prepared, and never allow your Horse to resist at 
any point after he has been concpiercd. Remember, that to break a Horse reliably 
of kicking, means there will be no inclination to kick in any position, no matter how 
irritated. 



CHAPTER IV. 
B v^ L K I N G 



Horses know nothing about balking- until they are forced into it by bad man- 
agement. When a Horse balks, it is generally from some mismanagement, excite- 
ment, confusion, or from not knowing how to pull; but seldom from any unwilling- 
ness to do all that he understands. High spirited Horses are the most liable to balk, 
and it is because drivers do not proj)crly understand how to manage them. A free 
Horse in a team may be so anxious to start, that when he hears the word he will start 
with a jump, which will not move the load, but give him so severe a jerk on the 
shoulders that he will fly back and stop the other Horse. The teamster will continue 
his driving, without any cessation, and by the time he has the slow Horse startc<l 
again, he will find that the free Horse has made another jump, and again flown back. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 63 

Aud now he has them both badly balked, and so confused that neither of them know 
what is the matter, or how to start the load. Next will come the slashing and crack- 
ing of the Avhip, and the hallooing of the driver, till something is broken, or he is 
through with his course of treatment. But what a mistake the driver makes, by 
whipping his Horse for this act. Reason and common sense should teach him that the 
Horse was willing and anxious to go, but did not know how to start the load. And 
should he whip him for that? If so, he should whip him again for not knowing how 
to talk. A man that wants to act with reason should not fly into a passion, but 
should always think before he strikes. It takes a steady pressure against the collar to 
move a load, and you cannot expect him to act with a steady, determined purpose 
while you are whipping him. There is hardly one balking horse in five hundred that 
will pull truly from whipping; it is only adding fuel to the fire, and will make him 
more liable to balk another time. You always see Horses that have been balked a 
few times turn their heads and look back as soon as they are a little frustrated. This 
is because they have been whipped, and are afraid of what is behind them. This is 
an invariable rule with balky Horses, just as much as it is for them to look around 



64 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

at their sides when they have the bots; iu either case they are deserving of the same 
kind of rational treatment. When yonr Horse balks, is confused, or if he wants to 
start quickly, use kind treatment immediately. Caress him kindly, and if he don't 
understand at once what you want him to do, he will not be so much excited as to 
jum}) and do every thing wrong through fear. As long as you are calm, and can 
keep down exciteiuent of the Horse, he will soon forget all about it, and learn to pull 
true. Almost every wrong act the Horse makes is from mismanagement, fear or ex- 
citement. We must remember, when we are dealing with dumb brutes, that it must 
be very difficult for them to understand our motions, signs and language; we should 
never get out of patience with them because they don't understand us, or wonder at 
their doing things wrong. We should remember that our ways and language are just 
as foreign and unknown to the Horse as any language in the woi'ld is to us; and 
should try to practice what we could understand, were we the Horse; endeavoring by 
some simple means to work on his understanding, rather than on the different parts 
of the body. Balking is a habit that is ac({uired, just the same as kicking, halter 
pulling, shying, or any of the other habits; one repetition after another of bad man- 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 65 

agement, will soon confirm them in the habit. Then you have one of the most disa- 
greeable vices that we have to contend with. I am often asked whether I can break 
a balky Horse so that he will not repeat the habit. I tell them that it altogether 
depends upon the man that is going to use the Horse. If the man is not too balky, 
the Horse will have no inclination to repeat the habit. There are more balky drivers 
in the country than there are balky horses. I can break a balky Horse for myself 
or any body else to use, that knows how to use Horses. Perhaps the first lesson you 
give the Colt will be to hitch it up, and that too, with blinds on, and say "Get Up." 
The Colt never having beeu taught the meaning of the command, "Get up," will 
probably stand in its tracks, confused, and will not know what to do. You may even 
apply the whip after it becomes bothered, and it will stand sullenly, or kick in self 
defense. Now I presume you would say the Colt balked. No! there was nothing 
balked except the man that was handling the Colt. Take the Colt out of harness; 
first teach it to have confidence in you; next teach it the use of bit, and the command 
"Get Up;" teach it to turn to the right and left, and the true meaning of the word 
Whoa! according to our system of "Colt Training." Then you will have a Colt that 



66 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

has no inclination to balk. As I have given you a few of the many causes for Horses 
balking, and also how to prevent Horses from getting confirmed in the habit, I will 
next give you my course of treatment for a confirmed balker. The balky horse has 
learned by his past experience and resistance that be can do as he })leases. Hence 
the first thing we do is to take the conceit out of him, and show him that we are 
master, by our methods of subjection. I would first throw the Horse; if he tries to 
keep on his feet and resists hard, he should be thrown a number of times. Then let 
him on his feet, and put on the Double Safety Rope; take the lines back through the 
shaft bearers of the harness, get behind the Horse, take the rope and whip in the 
right hand, and the lines in the left. Have a stra}) twenty feet long, with a ring in 
one end, make a slip noose around the Horse's neck, bring down to mouth, and make 
a half hitch around his lower jaw; have an assistant stand about fifteen feet in front, 
a little to the right or left of the Horse; just as you give the command to go, hit the 
Horse with the whip, and have your assistant pull on the guy line at the same time. 
You will find that it will cause him to move very quickly; and if he lunges, or wants 
to go too fast you can hold him in check with the rope. Now give him a thorough 




SHOWING GUY LINE. 



68 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING, 

handling with the Double Safety Rope. Teach him the commands that are necessary 
for him to know, on the same principle that we teach a Colt; except in teaching a 
balky Horse these commands, we use more severity in the action that we associate 
with the command. For instance: when we say Get Up! we give him a hard stroke 
with the whip around the hind limbs, and have him pulled out with the guy line; 
and when we say Whoa! we bring him on his knees. We thus teach him that it is 
np partnership afPair; showing him that "Get Up!" means to move forward, and that 
Whoa! means to stop right on the spot. Give him to understand that we are going 
to have it our own way all the time. As soon as he becomes submissive, and obeys 
our commands promptly, we caress and treat him kindly for it. Give the Horse three 
or four lessons of this subjective treatment before you hitch him up. 

About the third lesson, if the Horse balks from any unwillingness to pull, you 
should put on the breast collar, and attach a rope or strap to the traces, and bring it 
around your back, and teach him by degrees to pull your weight. The fourth les. 
son, if he obeys all your commands, and draws your weight behind him, he is ready 
to hitch to a light vehicle. Now, if he obeys you when he is hitched up, be very 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 69 

gentle with him, so he will not get mad; also caress and reward him for doing right; 
but if he should fail to move after he is hitched up, give him a repetition of the 
first lesson, viz: Double Safety Rope, Guy Line, etc. Don't make your lessons 
more than about one hour in length, and only one a day, for the first six or seven 
lessons. Go prepared, for the next fifteen or twenty lessons. Pay strict attention to 
your Horse, and do not allow him to resist, for that length of time, and you will have 
a Horse that will be anxious to obey every command that you have taught him. If 
you never fool him, lie to him, or deceive him, he will never forget your teachings. 
If you will properly apply the treatment above described, you will be successful in 
managing three fourths of the confirmed balkers. To break Horses that have only 
balked a few times, only lots of patience and good common sense are necessary. 

Anything that will disconcert a balky Horse is a step in the right direction. 
Remember that a Horse can think of but one thing at a time. You can very often 
start a balky Horse by going up to him quietly and lift his front foot and hammer on 
it a few times with a little stone. Let the foot down and he will start off all right. 
The IJorse would be reminded of being shod ; .while he is thinking of being shod he is 



70 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

not thiukiug of balking. Or almost any other little trick that will disconcert the 
Horse from his purpose will do the work. Sometimes just going to the Horse and 
unbuckling his line, or drop a trace, then hitch them up again, will remind the Horse 
of going to the stable, and he will start when you ask him to. Taking the blinds off 
of some balky Horses I claim is half of their breaking. Teach them to have confi- 
dence in you, and allowing them to see your movements behind them, will be all that 
a great many Horses need. No doubt you have seen Horses as soon as they balk to 
turn their heads around. Possibly the Horse had been severely punished while the 
blinds were on, and now whenever he stops, he imagines the driver is going to whip 
him, and becomes restless, excited and confused. While if the blinds were off, the 
Horse could see that you were calm and didn't intend to hurt him. If your Horse 
will not start under ordinary good management, after you have tried kind teaching 
and patience to your heart's content, take him out of the shafts, put one hand on the 
halter, take hold of the tail with the other, and whirl him around until he becomes 
dizzy. If you get dizzy before the Horse does, you can make him whirl himself 
around, by tying a knot in his tail. Divide the hair above the knot, and run the hal- 



JESSE beery' 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING, 71 

ter strap through and tie in a half hitch knot. Bring the Horse's head close to his 
tail. This causes hiin to run around in a ring. Keep him whirling until he staggers 
or nearly falls down. Pull the end of the strap, and reverse the whirling by tying 
the head and tail together on the opposite side. Then hitch hira up quickly and take 
the lines, ask him to go, and in the majority of cases, he will move right off. This 
has a controlling effect in two ways. In the first place it confuses a Horse's ideas, 
and breaks up his confidence quicker than any process we can subject him to. It also 
forces the Horse to move; being deficient in his reasoning faculties, he cannot tell the 
difference between going sideways and straight ahead. Occasionally this method 
fails; it is best for single balkers. I will give you a little trick that will be very 
good for double balkers. You can have it for what it is worth, although I do not 
practice tricks myself. Take a rope eighteen feet long, make a slip loop around the 
balky Horse's body just in front of the hips; have the slip loop come on the side near- 
est the other Horse; bring the rope forward and fa.sten to the collar of the gentle 
Horse; have every thing ready; take up the lines and say "Get Up!" giving the 
gentle Horse a stroke witli the whip. As he junn)S ahead, the rope tightens around 



72 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

the small of the back and flanks of the balky Horse; that canses him to move out of 
his tracks. By practicing this a few lessons, you will find that the balky Horse will 
be anxious to start when he hears the command "Get Up!" To be successful in 
managing a balky Horse, you must first control your own temper, keep cool, do not 
fly into a passion, but have plenty of patience, and you will come out victorious. 



CHAPTER V. 
S M V I N G . 



I shall first give you some of the causes foi' Horses shying, and also how to pi-e- 
vent them from getting into the habit. I believe in the old saying, "an ounce of 
preventive is worth a pound of cure." The habit of shying is formed on the same 
principle that the habit of balking is. I claim that the driver always shies, or gets 
away from the true principles of horsemanship first. For instance, the driver is dri- 
ving a nervous, young Horse, and he comes to a stone, stump, log, or any thing else 
that the Horse does not understand, and gets a little frightened at it. The first thing 
the driver thinks of, is to pull out the whip and score him past; and possibly, whip 
him five minutes after he is past the object; and say, "I'll learn you how to get 
scared." Remember, the Horse can only think of one thing at a time. Now while 




SHOWING HOW TO EDUCATE A SHYER. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 75 

he is eyeing the stoue or log, and you are whipping him, what is that the Horse 
thinks is hurting him? You woukl say the whip, but 1 say, no! It is the object 
that he is looking at that inflicts the i)ain; and the next time you come to the object 
he will be more afraid ol" it than he was the first time, and will try to get farther 
away from it. A few rei)eLitious of this kind of treatment will make a first class 
shyer. Or to allow a Horse to go around any object that he is afraid of, without 
having him examine it, and be convinced that it is harmless, will have almost as bad 
an effect upon the Horse as the one that received the whip ].)unishmcnt. This is 
invariably the way all Horses are taught to shy. 

Now, when you have a Horse that has been taught to shy, or is confirmed in the 
habit, it is advisable to lay him down a few times, and introduce to him the Buffalo 
robes, umbrellas, flags, tin pans, sleigh bells, drums, in fact all the objects and sounds 
that are liable to frighten Horses. After he submits to this treatment while down, 
then let him on his feet, put on the Double Safety Rope, as described under "Sub- 
jection," and convince him that these objects and sounds that are liable to frighten 
him are perfectly harmless. 




iCONVINCJtNG THE HOESE THAT THIIJGS LIAB^-E TO FRIGHTEN HIM AKE PERFECTLY HAJJMI^Eg? 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 77 

Have your assistants hold flags and umbrellas up, and drive the Horse under 
them. Drive him over paper, and right up to the objects that he fears most. If he 
undertakes to shy from them, say Whoa! pull on the rope and bring him on his 
knees; hold him there a little while; then let him up, and draw on the rope just en- 
ough to keep his attention, while you rush him right up to the object, and let him 
examine and feel it with his nose. After you have thoroughly subdued the Horse 
by the above process, you may take off the rope and drive him over paper and under 
flags, &c., with the lines only, and treat him kindly until he is cooled off a little; 
then put him in the stable until next day; give him two lessons before you hitch him 
up. About the third lesson you may drive him to a vehicle, with the Double Safety 
Rope on; or if he is under pretty good control, a single foot strap will be suflicient; 
simply run the end of the rope through ring in girth of harness, down through ring 
in foot strap, uj) and snap in ring at girth. This will remind him of the Double Safe- 
ty Rope, and you can control him about as well with the single foot strap as you 
could at first with tlie Double Safey Rope. Now, when your Horse sees an object that 
he is afraid of, speak to him as though you meant business, something like this: Take 



78 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



care! It will not hurt you! Walk right up to it, sir! at the same time giving him a 
stroke with the whip. But do not strike him often, unless it is necessary to hold him to 
his post. As soon as you have driven him uji to the object, stop him, get out of the 
vehicle and caress him; thus teach him that he will not be harmed when he hears 
your voice and obeys your commands. In leaving an object that your Horse is afraid 
of, you should never allow him to go faster than a walk. 

By following the above instructions, in a short time you will have a Horse that 
will go nearer the object that he is afraid of, when he hears your voice, instead of 
shying away from it. I will call your attention to another error that people almost 
invariably make when driving shying Horses: When the Horse shies from an object 
they will pull the lines nearest the object, while they should always pull the opposite 
line first. For instance, if your Horse shies at something on the near side, you should 
pull the olf line first. By pulling the line nearest the object, you simjily pull the 
head around to one side, and throw the body further away from the object. When 
you pull the line on the opposite side it throws the body nearer the object, and brings the 
head and neck straight with the body. You can never control your Horse when his 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 79 

head is twisted arouud to one side. Always try to keep his head and neck in a straight 
line with his body. 



CHAPTER VI. 



R LI N N I N G A \V A V . 



The habit of running away is nearly always caused by carelessness; but after 
they have run away a time or two they are inclined to run at every opportunity until 
they are confirmed in the habit, and then they will not be safe to drive at all. For 
after they have once learned to know their strength, they will run whenever excited, 
although you may have the severest bits that are made on them. Our treatment for 
a bad run-a-way Horse is similar to that given a shyer, except it requires more lessons 
and more severe treatment. You should take him on a soft piece of ground and 
throw him several times; then hold him down, and have your helpers to make racket 
over and around him. When subduing a Horse, always be careful that the instru- 
ments you use around him will not hurt him; for instance, while he is lying down, 



JESSE BEERy'S practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 81 

and you are rattling tin pans over his head, if he attempts to raise up and strikes his 
head against the pans, it would have the same effect upon the Horse as if you had 
struck him purposely. He would not be smart enough to know that he hurt himself. 
The object in making this racket about him is to teach him that it is harmless, and 
will not hurt him. Next let him on his feet, hang tin pans to his tail, and wave 
flags and umbrellas over him; drill him thoroughly on the words. Steady and Whoa! 
Teach him that when you say Steady, it means to go slow; and when you say Whoa! 
it means to stop instantly. Of course you must have the Double Safety Rope on. 
Give him two or three lessons before you hitch him up. Then hitch him up and 
make all the racket you can behind him, and make him try to run off. Let him start 
to run off", and tTien say Steady, pull on the Safety Rope, and make him go slow; then 
say Whoa! and bring him on his knees. After you have taught him the words 
Steady and Whoa! and he is submissive, you can take off the appliances. But carry 
the Double vSafety Rope with you for a week or ten days, and whenever he shows 
any inclination to run off, get right out and put the rope on again, and make 
him run. Show him in this way that you can control his running as you please. — ^ 



82 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



Keep liim under complete subjection for a few weeks, and you will overcome all in- 
clination to run away. I have handled run-a-way Horses in this way, and tested 
them so hard that they became gentler while driving them in a run than to go slower. 
As soon as they would hear the word Steady, they would slack their pace immedi- 
ately, and when they would hear Whoa! they would stop so quick that they would 
fairly slide their hind feet. Drivers don't talk to their Horses enough; when their 
Horses start to run off, they pull on the lines and keep still, while if they would talk 
to them they could get them quiet before the Horse would get the advantage of them. 
I will give you the best way to stop a run-a-way Horse with a straight bar bit: As 
soon as you see that he has the advantage of you, and is determined to run off, let 
him run for ten or fifteen,rods; then pull in steady on the lines. Now hold the left 
hand perfectly still, and give a powerful jerk with the right hand. Give the com- 
mand Whoa! at the. same time; and if you will repeat the jerk and command once, 
you will invariably stop your Horse. It surprises and disconcerts him quicker than 
any other process you could use with the lines. By the old process of see-sawing with 
the lines, you have but little more power over the Horse than just pulling on the 



JESSE BEERY's PKACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 83 

lines. If the Horse has a very blunt, hard mouth, it would be advisable to train the 
raouth with the First form War bridle; that will give you friction in the mouth, and 
you can soon make it flexible to an easy bit. There are more Horses taught to pull 
or lug on the bit by the use of severe bits, than from any other cause. A Horse of 
that kind should be drilled thoroughly on the words Steady and Whoa! then use as 
easy a bit as there is made. A straight bar bit, wound with leather, or a rul)ber bit 
would be preferable. In fa(!t, I do not approve of severe bits of any kind. Any 
Horse can be educated to drive to an easy bit, and that is the way they should be 
driven. I know farmers who break their Colts with severe bits, and they cannot be 
used with easy bits, simply because their mouths have been trained and accustomed 
to severe bits. 



CHAPTER VIL 



BAD TO SHOE 



The habit of resisting to have the feet taken up and submitted to restraint for 
shoeing, is, like most other habits to which the Horse is subject, caused by ignorant 
bad treatment. By a little patience, it is seldom that the most sensitive Colts cannot 
be made to submit the feet to be handled and pounded upon as desired. And once 
done, it can always be done, unless there is some special cause for disturbance. 

There are some Horses that are so wild and nervous that they will resist any or- 
dinary good management. When we have Horses of this kind, oi- Horses that are 
old and confirmed in the habit, it will be necessary to use some of our methods of 
subjection. Our treatment for a Horse extremely bad to shoe is as follows: 

Put the roll on the Horse as described under Subjection, and while the pressure 




.w^ 



EDUCATING A HOBSE BAD TO SHOE. 



86 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

is on, if liis hind feet are bad to shoe, buckle a foot strap with a ring in it around 
the foot below the fetlock; next tie a knot in the Horse's tail; take a rope eight feet 
long, and make a slip loop in one end of it; draw this slip loop around the tail above 
the knot, and bring the other end through the ring at foot. This gives you a double 
purchase on the foot. If he is a kicker he will not make many kicks with this appli- 
ance on, as the foot would just be carried back on the cord that you hold in your 
hand; also the pressure and weight of the foot comes directly on the tail. This is 
the simplest and easiest way of managing a kicking Horse or Colt, bad to shoe. Pull 
the foot backwards and forwards at short intervals until it will be given back freely; 
and when given freedom, it will be rested upon the toe with the muscles relaxed. 
Now step to the side of the Horse, and pull the foot forward a number of times, until 
perfectly submissive. Then hammer on the foot a little; after all of this is submitted 
to, you should remove the roll and continue handling the foot when the })ressure is 
off and the head is free. The other hind foot must be handled in the same way. As 
mentioned before, making one foot, or member of the body gentle and submissive to 
be handled, will give no assurance that other parts will be submissive. 




AS THE FOOT WILL UE RESTED ON THE TOE, WHEN MADE SUBMISSIVE 



88 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



Should the Horse be bad to shoe in front, put the roll on; after it has been on 
ten or fifteen minutes, you can strap the front foot up to the surciufrle or t:ii-(h of 
harness, and lead him around a few steps on three legs. As soon as he finds tliat it 
is impossible for him to get his font down, he will give up. Remove the roll :ind con- 
tinue to handle the foot by rubbing the limb and pounding on the foot. 

How often when in blacksmith shops and liver}- stables, do \vc see nieii go to a 
Horse to take his front foot up by either hammering on his shins or pulling on the 
fet-lock; that is a very bad way to take up the foot. If it is the near front Foot tluu 
you want taken up, simply put your left hand on the Horse's sliouldtM and press 
against it a little; this throws the weight of the Horse on the opposite side, and the 
near foot will almost come up of its own accord. How simple, yet Iiow many have 
ever thought of it. Never apply this roll longer than twenty-five or tliirty iniimtes. 
If that will not be sufficient for an extremely bad case, (either bad to shoe or for bad 
balkers) you may remov6 the pressure for five minutes, and then ap})ly it again. — 
All ordinary cases bad to shoe will submit in from ten to fifteen minutes, with this 




AS THE IIORSK WlJ-i. STAND AFTER TREATMENT. 



90 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



roll on. Always use the foot strap and rope in connection with this method of sub- 
jection. 

If you have a Horse that is not vicious in liis resistance, all that is necessary 
would be to put the First Form War bridle on, and give him a few pulls to the right 
and left, or if tliat is not severe enough, put on tlie Excelsior bridle, and jerk him a 
few times with that, and he will submit readily to have his feet handled. I think it 
is an imposition upon the blacksmiths for farmers to take their Colts into a black- 
smith's shop and have the smith handle the (-olt's feet the first time. When first 
taken to the shop for the ])urp()se of being shod, the hammering and Hying of sparks 
will greatly excite the Colt, so that when you go to take its foot the noise and s|)arks 
will cause it to think you are going to hurt it; while if the Colt's feet would have 
been lifted up and pounded upon before taken to the shop, you would have had no 
trouble to shoe the Colt. The majority of Colts will resist some when you first un- 
dertake to handle their feet, but if you can get them to submit to their feet being 
handled, through gentleness and caresses, it will have just as good an effect on them 
as if you would have to use coercive or subjective treatment to get them to submit. 




GETTING FRONT FOOT SUBMISSIVE TO BE SHOD. 



92 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

Should the Colt resist too much to handle it in this way, put the First Form War 
Bridle on, pull it right and left a few times, then buckle a foot strap around the hind 
limb below the fetlock joint; take an ordinary hitching strap and snap one end into the 
ring in foot strap. Now have your assistant keep the Colt's attention with the cord 
while you take the strap and pull the foot back and forwards until the muscles be- 
come relaxed. At first there will usually be great resistance. The Horse may 
kick or pull the foot forwards with all his might. But no matter how much he may 
resist at first, it will be no indication of failure. Simply keep pulling the foot back 
at short intervals until there is no resistance. A sure indication of unconditional 
submission, will be when the foot is given freedom to be rested on the toe. The foot 
will now be ready to shoe without any further trouble. Treat the opposite foot in the 
same manner. To give an idea of the power of this treatment when properly applied, 
I will refer to its effect upon one or two cases that I handled. While instructing a 
class at Kessler Station, Ohio, there was an eighteen year old mare brought in to 
have her feet handled . She had never been shod but two or three times in front, and 
had never been shod but once behind, and that time she had to be held flat down bj 







.,* >'«'* 



THK WAY TO APPLY COIIT) FOR ORDINARY CAf^IOS BAD TO SHOE. 



94 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 

six men to have the shoe put on . Since that time she couhl not be shod at all , and 
she almost became unmanageable whenever she would come near a blacksmith's shop, 
I applied the pressure on the spinal chord for about fifteen minutes, then removed 
the roll and put the Excelsior bridle on, and gave her a few pulls with that, after 
which I could handle her feet with ease. I told the class I would have her shod the 
next day, and if any body wanted to sec her shod they were welcome to do so, but 
didn't think that tliere would be but a very few out to see her shod. To my surprise 
there was nearly seventy -five men came out to see the performance. Some of them 
came as far as six miles. I gave her a slight repetition of the previous treatment, 
when she stood riglit in her tracks to have four shoes put on. Another extremely bad 
case was an eight year old sorrel Horse that was brought to me at Tipi)ecanoe City, 
O., for the purpose of having his feet handled. This Horse as soon as he would get 
into a shop would commence kicking; before even being touched he would kick the 
ground behind him with all the force he had. I supposed there was something sting- 
ing or hurting him, and made a remark to that effect. The blacksmith looked at me 
and laughed a little, as much as to say "that is the kind of hair pin he is.'' The 



3^( 







V<^.,W<./// 



PULIiING THE FOOT FOKWAKDS. 



96 



JESSE BEERY'S practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



Horse had been abused so often in trying to have him shod, that he would get vic- 
ious without being touched. I applied the roll, and in about fifteen minutes I had 
him convinced that I was not going to tear his limb oft", and he stood perfectly quiet to 
be shod. Some Horses will allow the foot to be taken up, but will lean over on the 
blacksmith while it is being held. We treat this habit practically the same as for 
Horses that resist the feet being taken up. Usually a sharp lesson with the Excelsior 
Bridle, repeating it every time he atteraps to lean over, until he learns to stand with- 
out being held up, will be all that will be required. It is advisable to stand at the 
head ready to punish, while somebody else takes up the foot as if to shoe; just as the 
Hoi'se begins to lean over, give him a hard jerk with the cord. The point of success 
is to apply them just while in the act of resisting. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



H^LTKR PULLING. 



This is a disagreeable habit that Horses very easily acquire when they are not 
properly hitched the first few times. Once started to breaking straps there is in- 
creased inclination to do so until the habit becomes fixed. A Horse subject to this 
habit may stand all right when not excited, but will be ready to almost break his 
neck in the attempt to pull loose, should a piece of paper or a sudden sound come be- 
fore him. It is easy enough to hitch a Horse so that he cannot get loose, but the 
difficulty is, in bad cases, to prevent and break up the habit, so there will be no in- 
clination to repeat it. About the only plan that people know for hitcing their Colts 
so that they cannot get away is, to put on them a great heavy halter, so heavy that 
it would be impossible for them to break it if they were hitched to it with the other 













THE SAFE AVAY OF HITCHING A COLT OR HALTER PULLER. 



JESSE beery' 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 99 

end, by the traces. While this will work all right upon some Colts, it is a very im- 
proper way of hitching, for others. I have known of Colts pulling so hai'd upon 
halters as to make the neck stiff, deforming and spoiling them, and in some instances 
killing themselves, by dislocating the neck. The point is to hitch the Colt in a way 
that will induce the least inclination to pull, and when it does pull it cannot get 
loose, strain, or otherwise injure itself. 

Take a rope eighteen feet long, (half inch rope that will not stretch much is the 
best,) make an ordinary slip noose around the Colt's body, bring the end between its 
front limbs, up through the halter ring and tie to a strong post or hitching rack. 
Then make a little racket in front of it and cause it to pull back. It will not any 
more than get back until it will be up to the rack again . After it has tried it two or 
three times it will not pull any more, and the more racket you make the closer to the 
rack it will get. I should have stated- in the chapter on Colt Training that this treat- 
ment should be applied before hitching the Colt up, about the third or fourth lesson. 
After giving the Colt two lessons of this kind it will be safe to hitch on the street with 
a light strap. While this hitch alone will be sufficient to hold the worst halter pull. 



100 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

er, yet it will not be sufficient to wholely overcome the habit. To break the bad, 
sullen j)ullers, or Horses confirmed in the habit, requires more severe treatment and 
very good management. In the first place, you should have a good strong halter on 
the Horse, and hitch to a strong hitching rack, where it will give you ample room 
to work on the opposite side of the rack. Now bring out your "Horse fiddles,' cow 
bells, tin pans and sleigh bells, and make all the racket in front of him you can; you 
may also introduce to him Buffalo robes, umbrellas, paper, and flags. The secret of 
this hitch is that when he pulls, the loop draws so tight around his body that it hurts 
him so that it is impossible for him to pull long. The harder he pulls the more it 
hurts him across the back. But should the Horse be of that sullen disposition that 
he would set back on the rope and pull without ceasing, it will be necessary to 23unish 
him with a little limber lashed whip across the end of his nose. Usually within 
about four or five strokes Mr. Horse gets tired of pulling, and he will spring into the 
air and light some place close to the hitching rack. Continue the racket and wave 
the flags over his head, being very careful not to allow any of the devices which you 
use to make him pull back, to cause pain. He will probably go back once or 



JESSE BEGRy's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 101 

twice more; after that he will stay right up to the rack. As soon as he comes up, 
stop the racket, and caress and treat him kindly. Let him examine the instruments 
that made the noise, and feel the robes, flags, etc., and be convinced that they are 
harmless; thus teach him that the punishment is for his pulling, and that he is re- 
warded and treated kindlv for standing up to the rack. Give the horse one lesson a 
day for four or five days, and you will have a horse that you can not make break a 
tow string. In bieaking this habit, it would be almost fatal to success to let the 
horse feel that he could resist at any point. No possible chances for defeat should 
be taken. As before explained, in ordinary cases all that is necessary is to hitch in 
this way, and frighten back a little, at first by whatever excites him until he refuses 
to go back, when all inclination to pull is overcome; while in serious cases, punish- 
ing sharply with a whip will be necessary. Always hitch the horse first where he 
has been in the habit of resisting most, or as near there as possible. You should 
never hitch him first where you cannot if necessary, punish with the whip. When 
he goes back, punish instantly. When he jumps forward, make a noise, wave flags 
over his head, or something of the kind, but do not strike him with the whip, or hurt 




AS THE BAD HALTER PULLEE WILL STAND AFTER TREATMENT. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 103 

him with the things yon make racket with. The Horse shonld be hitched this way at 
several different pl^es, and he may, when left alone, try to pull again once or twice, 
but this will only fix the impression the stronger, until he will give up the contest. 
It does no good to treat a Horse just enough to make him stand quietly when not ex- 
cited or frightened. To overcome all inclination to pull back, he must be handled in 
such a manner as to make him stand quietly, regardless of any of the usual causes of 
excitement. Unless this can be done, the Horse cannot be trusted to be hitched in 
the street or at any place where exposed to any cause of fear. Sometimes we have 
Horses that will stand all right when hitched by the halter, but will break the bridle 
every time he is hitched with it. To treat a bridle puller, have what we call a chin 
strap. A strap about four inches long with a ring in the middle of it, and a snap at 
each end; snap these snaps into the rings at each side of the bridle bit. Now bring 
the halter-pulling rope through ring in chin strap. When pulling now, it 
will keep the bridle on straight, and what little pressure there is on the 
bridle comes directly on top of the head, without pulling the bit lengthwise 
through the mouth. Treat the same as halter pullers. This chin strap is 



104 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

a very good thing to hitch a colt with, until it gets accustomed to being hitched with 
the bridle, as it will not be aggravated by pulling the bit through the mouth. By 
following the above instructions, and exercising a little patience, common sense, and 
good judgment, you will have no trouble in breaking the worst halter-pullers. We 
have other remedies for halter-pullers, but none so safe and reliable as the one de- 
scribed, and for that reason I shall not describe any other. 



'' 



CHAPTER IX. 



PROMISCUOUS VICKS. 



HOW TO PREVENT A HORSE JUMPING FENCES, 

Put on him a surcingle with a ring in the bottom of it, and buckle a foot strap 
around each limb above the knee. Next take a strap or short rope, fasten one end of it 
to the ring in off foot strap, bring the other end through the ring in surcingle, and 
fasten to ring in foot-strap on the near limb. You should have the strap drawn just 
tight enough so that the Horse can walk his natural gait. If it is to be applied on a 
real bad jumper, it might be necessary to make it a little tighter so that he cannot 
take quite full steps. When this simple appliance is on your Horse, he can lie down 
and get up, eat, or do anything but run fast or jump. This is the best, most reliable, 
and safest remedy that has ever been devised for fence jumpers. 




BEST PLAN FOR PENCK-JUMPERS. 



JESSE BEERy'S practical SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 107 

"HOW TO PREVENT A HORSE KICKING A(;AIN8T THE SIDE OF THE STALL." 

Take a piece of elastic about an iDch and a half wide, sew a buckle on one end 
of it, and buckle around his limb just above the hock joint. When the Horse lifts 
his limb to kick, the leader expands; his attention is drawn to the elastic and he fails 
to kick. A Horse can only think of one thing at a time; while he is wondering what 
is drawing around his limb, he is disconcerted from his purpose, and the kicking will 
cease. A Horse will not kick against the stall unless he can hear a noise when the 
foot strikes the boards. Another simple remedy is to pad the stall with something so 
that he can not hear the foot strike. Take a piece of old carpet and tack on the sides 
of the stall and put straw between it, and the stall will be sufficient. These remedies 
are very simple but they will do the work. 



HOW TO PREVENT A HORSE PAWING IN STALL. 

Buckle a foot strap around the front limb above the knee with the ring in front; 
take a block about ten inches long and two inches wide^ buckle a strap around the 




TO TKEVENT A IIOBSE PAAVINQ. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 109 

middle of it and fasten to ring in foot strap so that it will hang about five inches be- 
low the knee. When the Horse attempts to paw, this block will strike him on the 
shins. He will not make more than a few attempts to paw until he will have satis- 
faction. 



HOW TO PREVENT A HORSE GETTING FAST IN STALL. 

This troublesome vice is usually caused by being confined in a stall that is too 
small. When the Horse rolls and turns upon his back, he is so cramped by the nar- 
row walls of the stall, that he can not roll himself back to get up. For the conven- 
ience of the Horse, and man too, you should always have wide stalls. A small ring 
should be stitched to the top part of the halter; take a small rope and attach to a beam 
or something directly above the Horse's shoulders when he is eating out of the man- 
ger; have a snap in one end of it, and snap it into ring sewed in halter. Feed him 
some grain from the floor about where he stands with his front feet. Have the rope 
long enough so that his nose will just reach the floor; of course have him tied with 



110 JESSE beery's practical system op colt training. 

the halter as ordinarily. This will allow the Horse to eat, lie down, and get up, but 
he cannot put the top of his head down to the floor so that he can roll. A Horse will 
not get fast in a stall unless he tries to roll. By having a snap in the cord or rope 
that is attached above the Horse, when you want to take the Horse out of the stall, all 
you will have to do will be to unsnap the rope. 



HOW TO prevent A HORSE PUTTIN(; HIS TON(UTE OUT OF MOUTH OVER THE BIT. 

Take a straight bar bit, and file about three inches of the middle of it nearly flat, so 
that when you sew a piece of sole leather over it, it will not turn. Have the sole leather 
come straight back in the Horse's mouth over the tongue. The leather should be 
about three inches wide at the bit, and extend back in the mouth about three inches, 
taperiug to a- point. The Horse cannot get the tongue back far enough to get it over 
this leather. It is a much better remedy than the bits that are made with metal 
plates on them; it is not so disagreeable for a Horse to have in his mouth. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. Ill 

"A PULLER, OR LUGGER ON THE BIT." 

Take the blinds and over check off of your bridle, and use as easy a bit as you 
possibly can. It will be necessary in order to break up the habit, to give him a few 
lessons on the words "Steady" and "Whoa!" The First Form War bridle will be 
very good to train the mouth, and teach him that "Steady" means to go slow, and 
"Whoa!" means to stop right there. This cord will give friction in the mouth, and 
make it so sentitive that he can easily be controlled with an easy bit. 



"HORSE THAT WILL NOT BACK. 

Put on him a surcingle; then put on the Excelsior Bridle under the ordinary 
bridle and take the lines back through the ring in surcingle. Have your assistant 
take a firm hold of the lines, while you take the cord and stand on the near side of 
Horse, about the shoulders, and just as you give the command "Back" give a sharp 
pull with the Excelsior bridle. If he only goes back a few inches, let up on the 




MY COMBINATION BRIDLE. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 113 

cord, and caress him for it. By repeating this a few times your Horse will go back- 
wards as soon as he hears the command, "Back." 

Another good way of teaching a Horse to back will be to put on him a surcingle 
and my Combination bridle, made as follows: Take a stout woven sash cord thirty- 
six feet long, and put the middle of it in the Horse's mouth; make an ordinary slip 
knot, put the fore top through it, and draw the knot tight. Take both ends over the 
head between the ears; and bring one end down on each side of neck, just back of 
jowls, twist the end together three or four times, bring each end forward through 
cord in mouth, on each side of mouth, take the ends back through rings in surcingle 
and carry them back behind Horse, for lines. You then have a combination of 
bridle and lines; you can guide a Horse as well with this cord as you can with any 
bit. Now, to teach the Horse to back, simply bring the lines, or ends of the cord, 
forward, while they are through the rings of surcingle. Stand in front of the Horse, 
take a short hold of the lines just in front of his breast. Say Back! and immediately 
give a sharp raking pull with the cords; this will force the Horse back. Repeat 
until he will step back at command. 




TE ACHING HORSE TO BACK WITH COMBINATIONJbRIDLE. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 115 

"TO BREAK THE HABIT OF RUNNING BACKWARDS." 

Put on the Horse the Double Safety Rope, and tell him to back. After he has 
backed a few steps, say Whoa! pull on the rope and bring him on his knees. Thus 
teach him that Whoa! means to stop, whether he is going backwards or forwards. 
If you will carry the Double Safety Rope with you for a few trips, and upon every 
occasion that your Horse wants to go backwards, put this rope on and bring him on 
his knees, you will soou have the habit of running backwards overcome. 



"HOW TO BREAK BITERS." 

If the Horse is not confirmed in the habit all that is necessary is to put on one 
of the simple forms of cord bridles and not let him know it is on, and when he makes 
an attempt to bite, give him a few severe jerks with the cord. Give him a few les- 
sons of this kind, and that is all that is needed. But if it is an old, confirmed biter, 
you will have to resort to the following plan. Put on him a surcingle and halter, tie 
up near front foot and throw him down several times; while he is down give his 



lie 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 



mouth a thorough handling. Next, put on the Excelsior Bridle; when he makes an 
attempt to bite, pull him right and left, open his mouth, give him all the opportunity 
to bite you can, thus show him that you are master, and you are not afraid of him. 
A very good way to manage bad biting and striking stallions or any other Horses that 
have this habit, is to blufF them with powder. I use a thirty-eight caliber revolver 
loaded with blank cartridges. When the Horse comes towards you, striking or mak- 
ing an attempt to bite, you discharge the revolver in front of him; this bluffs the 
Horse, and causes him to think his vicious act caused the explosion. By doing this 
a few times you will have him convinced that you are not afraid of him. The Horse 
is a close observer, and the instant you show any fear around a biting Horse, that 
quick will he take the advantage of you. There is not one vicious Horse out of fifty 
but what can be bluffed by simply standing still until he gets within four or five feet 
of you, then instantly raise your hand in front of you and hallo. Whoa! He will 
stop so quick that he will almost fall down. A Horse is not like a hog. If you 
stand in front of hog and don't give way, it will surely run over you, or under you 
rather, but a Horse will not do this if you will stand your ground; while if you show 



JESSE BEERy's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 117 

signs of being afraid of him, by moving backwards or running away from him it 
would be very natural for him to know that he had bluffed you instead of you bluff- 
ing him. To break a stallion from biting his mate when hitched double, put on him 
a Second Form War Bridle, carry it back to the wagon, not letting him know that it 
is on until he is ready to make a pass at the other Horse; then give him a powerful 
jerk with the cord and give him a severe stroke with the whip, and say "Take Care 
Sir," at the same time. The best remedy for an old confirmed Biting Stallion would 
be to have him castrated. 



AFRAID OF RAILROAD CARS. 

When a Horse has been frightened by the cars or the steam of an engine, it is a 
very difficult task to get him over the fright, mainly because you cannot control the 
movement of the train. The simplest and best plan would be to treat him to a station- 
ary or road engine first, because it will stay in one position long enough to teach the 
Horse that the steam will not hurt him. I would first get the Horse under good con- 



118 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



trol by a course of subjective treatment; then put on him the Excelsior Bridle, take 
the cord in left hand and whip in right hand, and lead him right u]) to the engine. 
Have the engineer let off steam by degrees until the Horse will allow himself covered 
with steam. If you cannot get him close enough to the engine with this bridle, you 
may lay him down on a soddy piece of ground and hold him there while the engine 
is run up by the side of him. Then have him covered up with steam. You can 
hardly convince a Horse that steam is harmless unless you can get him right into it. 
As he learns and submits to what you want him to, you should caress him and treat 
him kindly. One of the main objects of these lessons is to teach the animal that you 
are his friend and protector. Get him to have confidence in you, and he will almost 
go through fire with you. Give your Horse one lesson a day for three days, similar to 
the one just described, then your Horse will be ready to hitch up and drive about 
steam. It would be advisable to put on the Double Safety rope the first time or two 
you drive the Horse about the cars. Remember that one lesson will not be sufficient 
to educate your Horse that the cars are harmless, but if you will have patience 
enough to give three or four lessons according to the above instructions you will come 
out victorious. 



JESSE BEERy's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 119 

AFRAID OF SHOOTING CRACKERS. 

Lay the Horse down and fire off one at a time while he is down, and by degrees 
throw them out faster and faster until you have whole packs of them going off at 
once. Then let him on his feet and 2:)ut the Double Safety rope on him, and contin- 
ue the racket and shooting. If he tries to get away, pull on the rope and briug him 
on his knees. Give him two or three lessons and he will be perfectly safe to drive in 
the street on the "Fourth of July." In subduing him be very careful not to let any 
of the shooting crackers burn him, or allow any of the other devices to hurt him. 
Should the tin pans or sleigh bells hurt the Horse while the fire crackers were explod- 
ing, the Horse would surely think that it was the fire crackers that caused the pain; 
hence you would loose the very point that you were trying to gain. 



BAD TO BRIDLE. 



For a Horse hard to bridle there is no better remedy than simply to use about 
half an hour's patience once or twice a day for a day or two, and your Horse will be- 



120 



•JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 



% 



gin to want to be bridled. If He is not viciously bad, you should go into the stall 
with him and begin at the neck to handle and fondle him. If it is the ears that are 
sensitive and he don't want to be touched there, work down about the nose first; as 
his fears subside, work up about the ears, touch them very gentle at first, and as he 
will bear it, stroke them faster and a little more carelessly; then lay your right arm 
over his neck and press down gradually until his nose is nearly to the ground, all the 
time keeping his attention with your left hand by stroking his nose and forehead. 

Should the Horse be extremely bad, you will have to get him under control by 
one or more of our methods of subjection. Take him out of the stable, catch hold of 
the tail with your left hand, and the halter with your right, and whirl him around 
eight or ten times. He will usually stand perfectly quiet; the whirling around in a 
circle will make him so dizzy that he will not know how to resist. After you are 
once able to put on the bridle without force, repeat for some time, holding his atten- 
tion by giving him a little corn. He should be bridled with care for some time, to 
overcome all sensibility. If you can win the Horse's confidence by the first plan, 
and teach him that you are not going to hurt him, it will have just as good an effect 
upon him as it would have if you would use coercive treatment. 




METHOD OF TEACHING A HOKSE TO ]!E GENTLE TO BRIDLE. 



122 



JESSE BEERY 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 
BLINDERS. 



Blinds are one of the greatest aboniinatious that the Horse has ever been pestered 
with. There is not a man that can give any reason for using blinds on his bridles. 
All my experience in handling wild and nervous Horses proves clearly to me that 
blinds should never be used, and that the sight of the Horse, for many reasons, 
should not be interfered with in any way. Horses are only afraid of objects which 
they do not understand; and the eye is one of the principal mediums by which this 
understanding is brought about. The Horse, on account of his very amiable nature, 
can be made in the course of time to bear almost any thing in any slmpe; but there 
is a ((uicker process of reaching his intelligence than that of wearing it into him 
through his skin and bones. However wild or nervous a Horse may be, he can be 
taught in a very short time to understand and not to fear any object, however fright- 
ful in appearance. Horses can be broken in le.ss time and better, without blinds tlian 
with them; but Horses that have always worn them will notice the sudden change, 
and must be treated carefully the first drive. After that they will drive better with- 
out blinds than with them. I have not in all my experience of handling Horses, 



JESSE BEERy's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 133 

both wild and nervous, ever used blinds on any of them, and in no case have they ever 
shied at passing objects. The Horse's eye is the life and beauty of the animal, as 
well as the index of all his emotions. It tells the driver, in the most impressive 
character, what the Horse's feelings are. By it he can tell the first approach of fear 
in time to meet any difficulty; he can tell if he is happy or sad, hungry or weary. 
The Horse too, when permitted to see, uses his eyes with great judgment. He sees 
better than we do. He can measure distances with his eyes better than Ave can, and 
if allowed free use of them, would often save himself by the quickness of sight from 
collisions, when the driver would fail to do so by a timely pull of the lines. It 
would also save many accidents to pedestrians in the streets, as no Horse will run 
over a person that he can see. Blinds are an unnecessary and injurious incumbrance 
to the Horse. If you will take the time to notice all the Horses that go along the 
street for an hour, or notice all the bridles on Horses in a funeral procession, some 
day, you will not find one pair of blinds out of thi'ee that are manipulated right. 
Some of them will be too high or too low, some will have one side flapping straight 
out. while the other side will be pinched tight up against the eye; others will have 



124 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

the corners of the blinds bent und sticking towards the eye, sometimes in them, keep- 
ing the Horse continually batting his eyes. I have seen a number of blinds pinched 
in so tight against the eyes that the Horse could not see at all. Now, after your 
observation convinces you that two-thirds of the blinds that are used are manipulated 
in about the manner just described, you will have to agree with me when I say that 
blinds are a cruelty to animals. I think there ought to be a law passed pi*ohibiting 
the use of them. However, I am glad to know that people are beginning to see the 
absurdity of them, and in years hence they will be a thing to be read of as one of the 
follies happily reformed. 



WILL NOT STAND. 



The first thing, take oft" the blinds and give the Horse a chance to see your 
movements; then teach him that Whoa! means to stand, and not move until told, in 
the following manner: Put on the Double Safety Rope; pass the lines through the 
side rings of the surcingle, or shaft bearers of the harness. Then crack the whip. 




THE WORKINGS OF DOUBLE SAFETY ROPE, SHOWIN(; ONE FOOT UP, 



126 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 

wave flags over him, and make all the racket you can around him. If he starts, say 
Whoa! and bring him on liis knees. Give him one or two lessons of this kind before 
you liitch him up; then give him a few lessons while hitched up. If it is a Colt that 
you want to teach to stand, take it into an inclosure, stand it in the ipiddle of it, and 
commence at the shoulder and walk around it, keeping as close to it as possible, 
keeping its attention by caressing it, and by degrees make your circles a little larger, 
and walk a little faster. Watch the Colt's eyes and ears very closely. Should he 
attempt to move, pick up the lines, say Whoa! and give him a sharjj raking pull Avith 
the lines; then immediately slack them. Keep him as near as possible on one spot 
and he will get your idea sooner than to allow him to change positions so often. Af- 
ter he once understands that you intend for him to stand until you ask him to go, 
you can then stand him in another place and proceed as before. You should not 
teach him more than half an hour at a time. 



THE USE OF OVER CHECK. 

I am almost as radically opposed to this appliance as I am to blinds on the bridle. 



JESSE BEERy'S practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING}. 127 

If you have a Horse that was born without style, you might as well submit at once to 
let him go through life for what he is worth without torturing him, because there is 
no art of man that can add style to him' if it is not natural for him to have style. 
But man can destroy style and natural beauty by the use of straps and rigging. I 
have seen Horses that were naturally stylish, having the natural curve in their neck, 
with all the beauty that nature could give them, and then have it all destroyed by 
the use of overdraw check rein. This straight strap is not only a disfigurement of it- 
self, but it destroys the appearance of the Horse by taking the curve out of the 
Horse's neck and converting it into a straight line; it also wears off his mane, but the 
rein coming fi'om the nose directly over the Horse's head, lifts his nose up almost 
straight with his ears, turns the eyes upward and causes the neck to appear a great 
deal smaller than it really is, thus destroying the style and handsome appearance 
of fine Horses. Horses look more handsome when driven with open bridles and no 
check rein. They can travel easier and more gracefully when allowed free use of 
their head and sight, than any other way you could manage them. If there would 
be any advantage at all in using the check rein, it would be while speeding the Horse, 



128 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



When he is going at a lively rate and pulling hard on the bit, it might be advisable 
to use an over check to help steady the Horse's head. You can more fully realize 
the absurdity of using this appliance if you will notice the Horses while hitched in 
the streets that have the overdraw check reins on. You will see them paw the 
ground, champing the bit, or turning the head to one side in order to loosen the check. 
This is certainly cruel to dumb animals. You should always use the side reins, and 
then not draw the head higher than his natural way of carrying it. In all my prac- 
tice of handling kickers and all kinds of nervous, high-strung Horses, I give them 
their first training without any rein at all, allowing them free use of their head and 
neck, and then I rein them very slack, simply to prevent them putting their heads to 
the ground when we stop them. I will say of the check reins as I did of the blinds, 
as they are generally applied, they are certainly a cruelty to animals and their use 
should be prohibited by law. 



AFRAID OF UMBRELLA. 

If be has a great deal of fear of the umbrella, you may put on a bridle made in 







'/j^ 



»\^/«''.' 



HORSE EXAMINING UMBRELLA. 



130 JESSE beery' 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

the following manner. Take a cord ten feet long, make a stationary loop around the 
lower jaw, made rather tight, take it up over head just. behind ears from off side, 
bring down to corner of cheek bone, hold there with thumb and take it back over the 
head, down on off side under upper lip above upper jaw, up through cord held by 
thumb, and bring down through loop at jaw. You then have a simple but very pow- 
erful bridle which will hold any Horse wherever you want him. 

Now present the umbrella closed, and let him feel it with his nose; then open 
jiartially, and let him thoroughly examine it. If he should make an effort to get 
away, give him a few pulls with the bridle. You may now open the umbrella wide, 
and stand in front of the Horse, or a little to the near side, holding the cord in left 
hand; throw your right arm over the left, and hold the umbrella in your right hand, 
directly in front of the Horse. Now hold his attention by giving little short jerks 
with the cord, while you swing the umbrella up high and bring it down over his head 
with a quick motion, and hold him right under it. Lead him around under it for a 
little while; then open and shut it, and let him feel it with his "fingers." 




BEIKGIKG THE UMBEEXLA OVER THE HEAD. 



132 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

Now have your assistant go off some distance, and approach slowly from differ- 
ent directions, and hold it over his head. If at any point there is much fear shown, 
close it, and let the Horse examine it again; then repeat, until it can be brought up 
in any manner, while swinging it, without attracting notice. Two lessons will be 
enough to teach ordinary cases not to have any fear of an umbrella. 



fear of robe. 

Treat practically the same as for a Horse afraid of an umbrella. If the Horse 
is so determined in his resistance, it would be advisable to put one of the cord bridles 
on him; then present the robe, at first having it folded, and just allow him to see and 
feel of one corner of it. By degrees unfold it, and let him see the whole of the robe; 
if he tries to get away from it let him feel the power you have over him with the 
cord. Then hold his attention with the cord until you get the robe close to his head, 
when you can throw the robe over his head, leaving it completely covered for a short 
time, and then rub it over his body. Place it in different positions about him, and 




CONVINCED THJ: ROBE WILL NOT HURT HIM. 



134 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

it will only be a short time until he will be perfectly indifferent to a robe . In some 
cases it might be necessary to throw the Horse down, and present the robe while he 
is down, and commence at the head to get him used to it, by letting him feel and 
smell it, and rub his mane, neck and body with it, until he is convinced the robe 
is harmless. Then let him on his feet, and continue operations until you can throw 
it on him at a distance of eight or ten feet without exciting fear. Both sides must be 
treated alike. To overcome all fear of the robe, it will be better to repeat the lesson 
several times. 



afraid of the sound of a (lUN. 

If your Horse is afraid of the sound of a gun, put on him the Excelsior bridle. 
Have some one to take a gun and snaj) caps some distance from him, gradually going 
nearer, and repeating until it can be done over his body. Then have him go farther 
from the Horse again, and commence firing with small charge of powder; increase 
the charges until he will allow a full charge to be fired near him. After you have 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 135 

given the Horse three or four lessons of this kind, you will be surprised to see how 
indifferent he will be to any sudden sounds that he might come in contact with. 



AFRAID OF HOGS AND DOGS. 

Put on the Double Safety rope; run the lines back through the shaft beai'ers of 
the harness, and take him in a large lot where thera are hogs; if he tries to get away 
from them, bring him on his knees with the rope. Then make him get after the 
hogs and run them all over the lot, and it will be but a short time until he will be 
convinced that hogs will not hurt him, and will pay no attention to them. Usually 
Horses that are afraid of hogs are afraid of dogs too, and by teaching them not to 
be afraid of hogs they will not be afraid of dogs. 



HOW TO PREVENT A HORSE SWITCHING HIS TAIL. 

Take a piece of leather four or five inches wide, about as long as the tail bone of 










Ml/ 



AS A HORSE AVILL STAND AFTER THE PREVIOVS TREATMENT. 



:. f 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 137 

the Horse, and attach a crupper to one end of it. Have a pocket sewed on this 
leather large enough to hold about three pounds of shot, also sew two or three small 
straps and buckles on it. Now fill this pocket with shot, and buckle it to the back 
strap of your harness, instead of the ordinary crupper, and buckle the small straps 
around the bone of the Horse's tail. By putting these straps under the hair of the 
Horse's tail, the appliance cannot be seen, and it will be impossible for the Horse to 
switch his tail when this appliance is on. By using fhis for a few weeks you will 
overcome the habit of tail switching. 



DESCRIPTION OF AIM'LIANCE. 

How to make surcingle. It should be made of good leather, three inches wide, 
and about seven and a half feet long. The buckle should have two tongues. Four 
or five inches to the off side should be fastened two inch and a half rings; one at the 
front edge of the surcingle, and the other at the back edge; also attach two rings in 
the same manner directly on to top of the back. To these rings at the back edge of 




beery's surcingle and out fit for throwing a horse— surcinoi-e, leg strau, halter 

AND strap. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 139 

the surciugle fasten a double strap the length of from surcingle to ring at the hip, to 
which have a strong crupper attached. By having one or two rings attached on each 
side of surcingle, and two more rings at the bottom, or directly under the Horse's 
body, you can apply the Double Safety rope with this surcingle, although it is not 
necessary to have the crupper attachment in using the Double Safety rope. The leg 
strap used in strapping the fore leg up should be made of good leather also. It 
should be about two inches wide, and about three feet and a half long, with a good 
strong keeper on under side from buckle, to put the end of strap through and make a 
slip loop around the foot below the pastern joint. Lift the foot up, bring the end of 
strap over surcingle, and buckle. The halter should be made with strong head stall 
and brow band, with nose piece buckled rather close back of jaw. When this simple 
rig is on the Horse, any boy or amateur can throw him with safety, by taking a 
cord fifteen feet long, fasten one end to ring on the back, bring down on oft' side 
through halter ring, back through ring four or five inches to the off side of ring 
on back; then hold the end of cord in your hand, and stand four or five feet in front 
of Horse, a little to the off side. Now pull on the cord. This will draw his head to 




TJJK AI'I'LIANCKiS U!<ED FOR IJOT'ISLE SAFETY K(»PE — SURCIXrJLE, FOOT STRAl'S, KXEE TADS, 

ROPE, BRIDLE AXD LINES. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 141 

his side, which will throw him off his balance, and bring hira over in a rolling motion. 

Foot straps should be made about twenty inches long and two inches wide, hav- 
ing inch and half "D" rings in them, so that when buckled on the foot the rings 
will be on opposite side from buckles. By having foot straps made in this way they 
will be applicable for fence jumping and pawing in the stable, by buckling them 
around the limbs above the knees. Knee pads should be about sixteen inches long, 
and the top part of them should be about nine inches wide, with two strong straps to 
buckle above the knees. The lower part of pads will not need to be over seven inches 
wide, with two straps attached around the limbs below the knees. When these pads 
or protectors are on your Horse, you can bring him on his knees on the pike or very 
hard ground without bruising his knees. However it is advisable to bring him on 
his knees the first few times on ground that is free from stones or rubbish, after which 
he will try very hard to keep on his feet, and if he does come down it will be with- 
out much force. 

The Double Safety rope should be a half inch cotton rope eighteen feet long. 
There is no rope that will slip through the rings as easily as a cotton one; and on ac- 




ROLL, HALTER PULLINCi ROPE, CHIN STRAP, SECOND FORM WAR BRIDLE. 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 143 

count of its being so pliable, it will wear much longer than any other rope. By hav- 
ing a snap on one end of the rope, it can be put on very quick. First, run the end 
with the snap on through the off ring in surcingle underneath the body, down through 
off foot strap ring, up through other ring in surcingle, down and snap into ring of 
near foot strap. 

Bridle used in subduing a Horse should consist of nothing but head stall and 
straight bar bit. Never have your Horse's head gagged up when you are subduing 
him. 

To make the roll or head strap, take two pieces of leather about eighteen inches 
long, and about three inches wide in the middle, tapered to about an inch at the ends. 
Sew them together, and stuff it with flax seed. Next, sew a strap two feet long to 
one end of it; to the other end of it sew a short strap and buckle. This is the appli- 
ance we use for Horses vicious to shoe, and extremely bad balkers, as has been pre- 
viously described. 

The halter pulling rope should be a very strong half inch ro]>e, eighteen feet 
long. It should be a pliable rope, yet one that would not stretch much. Chiij. strap 



144 JE88E BEERY'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

is made with a heavy piece of leather, about four inches loug, with a ring in the 
middle, and a good snap sewed into each end' of it. This is to be snapped into the 
bridle rings. For bridle pullers, run the halter pulling rope through ring in chin 
strap, instead of halter ring. It will also be good to have it attached to bridle, when 
hitching Colts the first time by the bridle; it will pull the same on each side of the 
bridle, hence will not excite the Colt by pulling the bit lengthwise through its 
mouth. 

To make the Second Form War bridle, take a stout piece of woven sash cord 
fifteen feet long, and five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Make a stationary loop 
around the Horse's lower jaw, made rather tight, just so you can get your little finger 
through it after it is on; take it up on off side over top of head, just back of ears, 
down on near side through loop at jaw. This makes you a safe and reliable bridle, 
and after you have a little practice in using it, it will be almost invaluable to you. 
I use it altogether in teaching a Horse to lead by the side of a buggy. After he rubs 
against the wheel once or twice he will learn to stay away from it, and if he is inclined 
to get too close to the wheel, give him a little jerk with this cord, which will throw 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 145 

the Horse's body away from the buggy. I prefer leading a Horse by the side of a 
vehicle for several reasons. When the Horse is behind the vehicle, you will have to 
twist your neck nearly off to see how he is coming on. He will be unable to see the 
chuck holes, and he will have to come stumbling through them, and possibly bump 
himself often against the vehicle; while if he was by the side of you he could see 
where he was stepping, and you could manage him without twisting around in the 
seat to see him. One man can drive, and lead a Horse in this way about as well as 
if he only had the one Horse, for once teaching a Horse to lead with this cord, he 
will never forget it. He will always stay up to his place. In using any of the cord 
bridles you should loop the cord over a stick about as large around as your thumb, 
and four or five inches long, about the distance from the head that it will be most 
convenient to use, to prevent burning or chafing the hands. 

Simple Riding bridle. If your Horse is shy of a bridle, or will not allow you to 
approach him when you go to the pasture to catch him if you have a bridle swinging 










9^ J Lu- 



SAFETY LINES. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. " 147 

around, simply have a small cord eight feet long iu your vest })ocket, and when you 
get to hira pull this cord out of your pocket and lay the middle of it across the top of 
his head, bring ends down and cross them in his mouth, take the ends hack, get on 
the Horse and ride him home. This makes a powerful bridle, and you can guide him 
and hold him perfectly easy. By having little loops sewed to the cord on each side 
of the Horse's head, a little below his ears, then bring the ends up through these 
loops, and sew the ends together, will make what I call an endless bridle, which will 
be very good to have on under an ordinary bridle, to rein a Horse that is inclined to 
throw his head down and break his reins. 

Put an over check on your Horse, with a ring in it just back of ears. Take a 
cord eighteen feet long, run one end of it through ring in surcingle at one side of the 
Horse, through ring of the bridle bit, back through ring at top of surcingle, forward 
and snap into ring of over check. Next, take another cord the same length and put 
on the opposite side in the same manner. Step behind and take the cords for lines. 
You then have a powerful purchase on the Horse's head with these lines, which will 



148 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

be good to teacli a stubborn Horse to stop at word of command. By pulling on these 
lines the head is elevated straight into the air. 



CHAPTER X. 

PKRSON^L kxpetrience;. 



As I have often beeu asked whatever possessed me to engage in such a danger- 
ous avocation as training Colts and subduing vicious Horses, I do not think it impro- 
per to give a few explanations why I am in this business, and also give a little of my 
experience in handling Horses. I was born and brought up near Pleasant Hill, Ohio, 
on a farm, where I evinced somewhat of a talent for training Colts, but never had the 
opportunity of developing this talent until three years ago, when I was training one of 
my father's Colts. As I think the circumstances connected with this Colt is the 
identical one that started me into the Horse training business, I will give you details 
of this case. The Colt was about three years old, and I had driven him three or four 
times, when on Sunday afternoon I drove him to a neighbor's house, where I had to 



150 JESSE beery's practical system op colt training. 

cross a ditch aud opeu a gate to get there, and wheu coming out I was obliged to leave 
the Colt alone, about three rods from the gate, until I went back to shut the gate. 
1 noticed the Colt was a little excited and very doubtful about standing, but thought 
I would start back, and if he made an attemjit to start, I would grab the lines and set 
him back and show him that he must stand. He started and I grabbed the lines, but 
one slipped out of my hands, and it gave him too much of a side jerk, which excited 
and made him more restless than before. It had been ray motto ever since I was a 
little boy, never to attempt to have a Horse do anything without having him do it, 
so I tried him once more, expecting if he started again to manage some way to teach 
him that he would have to stand. But this time he got the start of me. I grabbed 
several times at the lines, but "failed to make connections." He ran as fast as he 
could, upset the buggy, tore loose from it and ran home. I had already determined 
to show him that he would have to stand in that very place until I went back to 
shut the gate, if I failed to get to see my girl that evening. When I got home I 
found the Horse terribly excited; I then took the lines out of the rings and 
run them through the shaft bearers of the harness, got behind him and intended to 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 151 

teach him that Whoa! meant to stand, but didn't more than get behind him until he 
started to run again. I knew of no appliance by which I could take the advantage 
of him except a crude form of war bridle, which I made oiit of an old clothes line. 
About all the advantage it gave more than the lines, was it made a slip loop around 
the lower jaw. With the aid of this clothes line, in about one hour and a half of hard 
work, I succeeded in subduing him, and making him perfectly submissive to stop and 
start at word of command, and also to stand until commanded to go. I then hitched 
him to another vehicle and drove him to the very spot that he had run from, and 
made him stand until I went about three rods behind to shut the gate. One week after 
that r had him hitched away from home after night, when the hitching strap came 
untied ; he turned around with the buggy, went home, and from all appearances walk- 
ed every step of the way, and stood by the stable door waiting to be unhitched, just as 
if he had been driven there. The reason the Colt did not run and tear the buggy to 
pieces was because he thoroughly understood that the previous treatment was for run- 
ning away. A few months after that time the Colt was driven to a carriage, when the 
front wheel came off wliile he was trotting at a fast rate. The axle tree and weight of 



152 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

two persons came right against his heels so hard that it tore the skin and flesh off 
both of his heels, yet he was controlled and stopped in a very short time, with all this 
weight directly against his heels. This proved to me as well as to all who knew of 
this case, that his subraissiveness under such excitement was entirely due to the treat- 
ment I gave him for running away. The idea struck me then that if it was possible 
to change a Horse's character in so short a time, and so fix the impression on the 
brain that he would never forget his training, it would surely be something worth 
knowing, and I began handling Horses and studying their nature from that time on. 
I had handled Colts and bad Horses for six months, and had fully made up my 
mind to master, control, and educate Horses, before I had ever heard of Horse train- 
ers, or ever knew there was any body travelling in the business of "Horse training," 
when one day, while calling on a friend, I happened to see a book on Horse training 
written by D. Magner. I immediately procured a copy of it, and studied the sul)ject 
with renewed zeal. Next I saw Prof. O. R. Gleason's book advertised in a newspa- 
per, which I sent for at once, and made inquiry and searched for other books that 
might be printed on the sul)ject; but to my surprise the only books that I could find 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 155 

pertaining to Horse training that were worth looking at, were the two already men- 
tioned, which I claim gives evidence that both men were very good horsemen. Nei- 
ther did I ever have the opportunity of taking instructions under any Horseman, 
except aliout two years ago, when I heard of Gleason being advertised at Dayton. 
I went twenty-five miles to attend one of his evening exhibitions. With this slight 
exception I had to get all my knowledge through hard experience. Of course T got 
some very good theory from these books, but theory is not practice. Some of the 
first Horses that I took to break were bad dispositioned Colts and Texas Ponies, (as I 
was just commencing to study and work in my new profession, I had to accept such 
Horses as were brought to me for training,) and some of them were the very worst 
Ponies in the country. 

You will never know the narrow escapes, experiences and hardships that I went 
through with, in handling these Ponies, unless you would go through with some of 
the same experience. At this time I had no books to get ideas from, nor any appli- 
ances by which to take the advantage of the Horse. I will have to admit I did a 
great deal of my work through main strength and awkwardness, yet I felt and saw 



156 JESSE beery's practical system op colt training. 

that I was gaining ground, and learning new ideas and points every day. Not only 
did I have to work without an instructor, books or appliances, but I was laboring 
under all manner of disadvantages and opposition. The neighbors and people going 
along the road would make light of my work, and say "I had better quit playing 
with Colts and go to work." And my folks at home were terribly opposed to iny 
handling Horses, saying I would keep on until I would get killed, etc. 

Father finally forbid me to bring any more l)ad Horses on the place, saying that 
if I wanted to farm the place any longer he would not allow nie to bring any more 
Horses there to break. I told him that I had fully made up my mind, and resolved 
to make a Horse trainer out of myself, if I didn't get killed in learning the business. 
When he saw the determination T had to master my profession, he submitted to my 
handling Horses. At this time I had an irresistible desire, and almost an uncon- 
trollable passion, for training Colts and subduing vicious Horses. I havn't farmed 
any since that time, but have had all the Horses to train ever since that I could 
handle, and a great many more. I have had from two to six Colts and vicious Hors- 
es under training all the time for nearly three years, and sometimes as liigli as seven 



JESSE BEERy's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 157 

at one time, having all kiuds of vices— kickers, balkers, shyers, halter })ullers, run- 
a-vvays and Colts. After I had broken a few bad kicking Horses that nearly every 
body knew of their viciousuess, and saw that they were made perfectly safe and 
gentle, they began to fall in one by one, and recognize my work. It was here where 
I originated my system of Colt training. Some of the first Colts that I had broke I 
gave two lessons a day, and turned them over to their owners in about two weeks. 
But I found that it was giving them too much in a short time; it brought their les- 
sons too close together, and the whole length of time, two weeks, was not long enough 
to fix the impression on the brain. So I changed my plan of training to giving them 
one lesson a day, and teaching them four weeks instead of two, making their lessons 
about one hour in length, according to my present system, as described in this book. 
I found that lessons given in this way would be remembered better than to give them 
two lessons a day, and there would not be so much danger in running the lessons into 
each other. 

A very important point I observed, was to teach but one thing at a time. I 
learned through experience, that it was almost impossible to give the Colt the first 



158 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

and second lesson both in one or even in the same day. The first lesson is to teach 
the Colt to keep its heels from us, its head toward us, and follow, while the next lesson 
we teach it to keep its heels toward us, its head from us, and go away from us; two ideas 
exactly opposite to each other. In trying to teach both ideas at one time it only con- 
fuses the Colt, and the consequences will be to fail in teaching either point so that the 
Colt will remember it. But I found by teaching the Colt one command or idea at a 
time, it would so fix the impression upon the brain that it would not forget it, and 
the next day I could teach it something directly opposite, and it would then retain both 
ideas. I soon learned that my system of Colt training was not only the proper way 
of training Colts, but that it was equally applicable to all spoiled Horses; 
as it is almost invariably the rule for all spoiled Horses, or any Horses 
having vices, to have but little or no education at all. And how can you ex- 
pect them to obey your command and act intelligently without first teaching them 
what to do. After you have subdued the bad, vicious, or unruly Horse, and made 
him submissive to do all that he understands, it is just as important and necessary to 
treat him with gentleness and kindness, and teach him what you want him 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 15f* 

to do, as it is to be gentle and patient with the Colt. There is no better 
way of teaching them what to do than to follow my system of Colt train- 
ing. In all my private training of bad Horses, the first thing I do is to 
give them a course of subjective treatment, to get them under good control. Then I 
always give them a repetition of Colt training. Controlling physical resistance is 
but a temporary bridge across a stream to enable building the real .structure. So sub- 
jection is but a means for reaching the brain to remove the exciting cause of the re- 
sistance. If the resistance is stimulated by fear, then to show there is no cause for 
fear — if through real viciousness, then to remove the resentment by kind treatment — 
when the Horse's reason can be moulded and instructed as desired. I claim there is 
no education in subjection any further than it teaches the Horse we are his master. 
It is simply getting a Horse in shape or condition to be taught. If it were possible to 
gain a bad Horse's better nature, and win his confidence through kindness, without 
any coercive treatment, which I think it is in a great many cases, it would be the 
very best kind of subjection. But in nearly all cases where they are confirmed in 
the habit, it will be necessary to use coercive treatment to get them under subjection. 



160 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



I have tried to make every point so simple and plain that any one can easily under- 
stand that there is no mystery in the control of Horses beyond that of skillful treat- 
ment. That when managed according to the laws of their nature it becomes a very 
simple matter to subdue and control even the most vicious Horse. That every Horse 
made vicious or unmanageable, is so in reality through bad treatment. To be a 
good Horseman you should always show by your actions and conduct, that you are a 
man, and that your real superiority over Hor.ses consists in the prudent exercise of 
your reasoning powers. A man must have patience and courage, if necessary, that 
borders on rashness, yet always holding himself within the limits of safety. What- 
ever the difficulties or failures, he should only exhibit the more care and patience, un- 
til successful. It is especially important that there be no fool hard in ess, lack of judg- 
ment or cai-elessness, that will expose the Horse to danger or accident. It is an in- 
variable fault of those Avho claim any skill or experience in the management of Horses 
to be over confident, to think too much of the little they know of applying the treat- 
ment, and too little of the difficulties and danger of resistance in the Horse to be treated. 
A man who assumes to know all about Horses, and can break any Horse, etc., only 



JESSE BEERY'S practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 161 

gives to any sensible, observing man, the strongest proofs of his ignorance. The 
most ignorant men in the business are usually the greatest pretenders, and are good 
types of the many "Pretentious Horse Tamers" that have infested the country 
of late years. Of course it will not be difhcult for any ordinary man, by following 
my system of "Colt training," to break the average of bad Colts and Horses. But 
if the case is at all critical, success will depend upon making no mistakes and being 
thorough. Every failure is an undoubted proof of lack of judgment and good man- 
agement. 

In buildiug a bridge, or any structure where large risks to life are involved, 
extraordinary precautions are taken to insure safety against accidents, by requiring 
much more power than is expected to be used at any time. Every part is tested as 
to its strength and weight far beyond what it is ever required to sustain, and when 
completed, is again proved, in order to give assurance of its safety. Now in the 
subjection of Horses, especially those used for carrying and family driving, where 
lives are risked, they should be tested very thoroughly. I always give them such 
tests as they will never be likely to have in ordinary using and driving; for instance, 



162 



JES8E BEERY 'S TRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING, 



driving kickers aud run-a-way horses with tin pans and sleigh bells tied to the crup- 
per of their harness, leaving them hang down and striking their heels every step they 
take. If they are nervous and excitable, I drive them over paper, under flags and 
umbrellas, rattle cow bells, tin pans, sleigh bells, beat drums, use Horse fiddles, and 
make all the racket I can have stirred up about them. In this way give them to 
thoroughly understand that these objects and racket will not hurt them. After a 
few lessons of this kind the Horse will take no notice of the usual minor causes of 
fear, such as a bit of paper flying up about him, an umbrella being carried in front 
of him, or the sudden playing of a band. 

I learned through some of my hard lessons of cx])erience that subduing a Horse 
and making him docile in one place, would give but little assurance of his being so 
at other places. The Horse must have a repetition of subjective treatment at differ- 
ent places, especially the places where he had been in the habit of resisting, in order 
to break him reliably. We can subdue a Horse in a building, then take him outside 
without giving him a repetition of subjective treatment there, and he will appear 
almost as bad as he was before he had been subdued. We must take the advantage 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM COLT OF TRAINING. 163 

of him out side enough to show hira that we can control him out side the building as 
well as we can inside, although it will not require nearly as much work to make him 
gentle and submissive as it did in the building. We can also subdue a vicious Horse 
in the city amid all the busy noise and din, then take him into the country where 
every thing is quiet, when he will become unmanageable. And on the other hand, 
we can subdue the Horse in the country, then take him into the city and he will be- 
come unmanageable there. At one of the first places where I instructed a class I 
handled a very bad run-a-way Mare; and after I had subdued her and made her sub- 
missive to drive without breeching, in a barn, I told them to throw the doors open, 
and I would drive her out side. They did so, and the moment her head was out of 
the barn she sprung forth like a deer, and ran across a ten acre field as fast as her 
limbs would take her. I thought it very strange that she would take a spell of that 
kind after being subdued; but that was the way I learned it was necessary to give a 
Horse a repetition of the treatment out side of the building. As soon as I got the 
Mare stopped, I took her out of the shafts and gave her a little subjective treatment, 
after which she drove as gentle on the road as in the building. After I had been 



164 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

handling Horses for about a year, and had successfully broken all the Horses brought 
me, a great many of my friends advised me to go on the road as a "Horse trainer," 
saying that 1 could make a great deal more money in that way; but knowing there 
were already too many professional men on the road that were not masters of their 
l)rofessiou, I declined. I have always been of the opinion that if a man was not re- 
spected, and did not have a reputation at home, lie coukl not make a success away 
from home. I also felt that I had a great deal to learn at liome, and I was deter- 
mined to build a reputation as a Horse trainer at liome first. After I had handled a 
number of Colts and Horses in the immediate neighborhood and conimunity, I adver- 
tised through the local papers that I would educate Colts, and train kickers, run-a- 
ways, balkers, shyers, halter pullers, etc. I then received Horses from adjoining 
counties, some coming as far as twenty-five and thirty miles. By handling Horses 
in this way for a little over two years, I received a very good practical knowledge of 
different dispositions and vices in Horses. In this way I learned to judge a Horse's 
disposition at sight, almost as correctly as the man that owned the Horse could des- 
cribe it. The most serious objections I had to handling Horses in this manner were: 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 105 

First — It was only the very worst dispositioned Horses that were brought me to han- 
dle; and the next place, they were generally owned by men that were timid, and 
afraid of gentle Horses. Sometimes, after I would give them a course of training, 
and make them gentle and safe enough for any body to drive that knew enough to 
hold the lines, say Get Up! and Whoa! they would use them a little while, and then 
let them know by their actions that they were afraid of them. Of course the Horse, 
after seeing he had opportunity, would frequently take it, and fall into his old tracks, 
when I would take him back and give him another course of handling, to get him 
under good control again. I don't mean to say that all the Horses that I broke were 
owned by timid or careless drivers, for I am glad to say that I handled Horses for 
some of the very best Horsemen in the country. I do not mean to speak disrespect- 
fully of men who are timid and afraid of Horses, because we all know it is natural 
for some men to be afraid of Horses of any kind. However, I am very grateful to 
all whose Horses I have handled, and thank them very much for their patronage; 
but as stated above, that was a very serious difficulty and objection to training Horses 
privately. Any man that is a coward, afraid or timid of Horses, should have noth- 



16B JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

ing to do with bad dispositioned Horses, or any Horses having doubtful characters, 
for they will notice it and take advantage of it. Horses of that nature should be treat- 
ed with firmness always; when you speak to them, speak with distinctness. When 
you ask them to go, don't "chuck" as though you were half asleep, but say Get Up! 
in such a way that they will knoAV that you mean for them to get out of their tracks 
instantly. As I have omitted saying much about the whip, I will give you my opin- 
ion of it here. I am often asked whether I ever whip Horses. I answer yes, but 
never whip them brutally. The only object in using a whip is to excite the fears of 
the Horse, and make him respect your authority by slight punishment when he 
does a wrong action. It should never be used as an instrument of revenge, and no 
man is fit to break or educate a Horse unless he can control his own temper. Fear 
and anger should never be felt by good Horsemen. To a Horse merely wild and 
timid, the whip should be but little used. Kindness will secure his confidence and 
remove his fears of you. A severe whipping maj' excite his passions to such an ex- 
tent as to forever ruin him as a quiet driver. I never whip a Horse unless I can do 
it in time, and in such a way that I am sure he will understand what the punishment 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 167 

is for. When we are not in a position that we can force submission, it would be 
far better not to touch the Horse with the whip. When it is necessary to whip the 
Horse, use a good bow top whip with a good cracker on it, and give him a few sharp 
cuts around the hind limbs next the body, and speak sharply to him. Never give a 
stroke without accompanying it with the voice. Your voice and the crack of the 
whip effects as much as the keen cut astonishes him. Don't whip too much, just 
enough to disconcert and scare him through. Never whip across the body; a few 
sharp cuts around the legs will so frighten him that he will respect your authority. 
There are no Horses so perfect that they should be driven without a whip in the 
buggy. It is true that there are a great many Horses that require the use of the 
whip very seldom, but when it is needed, it is needed just as bad as if it were in de- 
mand more frequently. For instance, you were driving along the road, and your 
Horse would. get scared at a bit of paper or some other object, and he would start to 
running backwards, possibly towards a deep ditch. If you had no whip you would 
have to let him go and take the consequences, while if you had a whip you could give 
him a cut with it and save a collision. It is always safer to have a whip with you and 
have your Horse understand what whips are made for. 



168 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING, 



After two years of this kind of experience, handling Horses all the time, some- 
times having as high as six bad Horses at one time, I then felt that my experience 
and knowledge gained in this way might be worth something to the public; for I think 
people who use and handle Horses need the instructions a great deal more than the 
Horses do. I instructed my first cla«s in barns, but found that I could not accommo- 
date all, neither could I handle Horses so well on a cramped up barn floor; so I pur- 
chased a large tent, and set it up around at the neighboring towns. I would gener- 
ally solicit about a week for a class, and would have from one hundred to two luindrcd 
scholars in a class, charging one dollar and a half per scholar, giving them five or six 
jlessons. I always gave them the privilege of having their money back on the last 
evening, if they were not satisfied with the instructions given them. I am happy to 
say that I have the first scholar to ask a return of his money. This gave me great 
encouragement, as well as the recommendations they gave n)e at nearly all the places 
T have had classes. I shall enclose a few of the Press notices and recommendations 
given me in the papers. The following is a local or sketch that contains my name 
for the first time it was ever in print: 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 169 

Jesse Beery. — Prior to the clays of Prof. Rarey, Horse taming was regarded as 
a humbug, but that man demonstrated beyond a doubt that the most vicious Horse 
coukl be subdued and rendered subservient to man through the laws of kindness. 
Since then quite a number have distinguished themselves as trainers of the noble ani- 
mal. One of the ihost successful trainers in this part of the country at the present 
time, is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Mr. Beery is yet very young, 
but when a very small boy he evinced a talent for training Colts, and as soon as he was 
old enough to investigate the subject, he devoted liis whole time to training Horses. 
He procured the best treatise on the art and made them a study. He takes any 
kind of a Horse and trains it for the owner, charging only a reasonable fee for his 
services i 



The next is an announcement of my first public exhibition, given about two miles 
from home, Sept. 1st, 18^8. My admission fee was twenty-five cents, and there was 
nearly one hundred people present, including a few ladies. 



170 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

Jesse Beery will give his first public exhibition, Sept. 1st, in Nate Iddiugs' 
large barn, near Pleasant Hill. He will show up his system of training Colts and 
breaking vicious Horses. 



Prof. Jesse Beery, our skilled Horse trainer, has at present in training six of the 
equines, which have natural and acquired cussedness. Among them is a fifteen year 
old kicker from Woodington, Ohio. He gives them "Jesse" every time. 



A short time before ray first exhibition, I purchased a very bad dispositioned 
Colt, one that would balk, rear and plunge. I will describe her head, for I think it 
had about as many characteristics indicating a bad disposition as is generally found 
in one head. She had a very long head, narrow between the eyes and between the 
ears, had very long ears, with plenty of long hair inside of them. Her eyes were 
small, and set well back in her head. On account of her being so mean and ugly, I 



JESSE beery' 8 PRACTICAL SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. 171 

was determined to control her, and thought I would see how far I could teach her; 
\ before I quit I drove her by the signal of the whip, without bridle or lines. While 
driving her in a neighboring town (Covington) one day, the editors of the Gazette 
saw me driving her, and gave the following local: 



Jesse Beery, of Pleasant Hill, gave an exhibition on our streets Monday, of the 
power of mind over a three year old Colt. The Horse was driven without lines or 
bridle, made to walk, trot, stop, or turn either way, all by the motion of the whip. 
It was a remarkable exhibition. 



The following is a recommendation from a class at Kessler Station. 

One of the most pleasing and instructive exhibitions, held one mile north of 
Kessler Station, at Mr. G. W. Beck's barn, in the way of educating the Horse, has 
just closed, with very gratifying success. Mr. Jesse Beery, of Pleasant Hill, O., 
well and favorably known in this and adjoining counties as a trainer of vicious Horses, 



172 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 

jind an educator of Colts or young Hovses, spared no pains to teacli the people how to 
train and educate the Horse to make him man's most useful servant and true friend. 
He completely subdued and broke a kicking Colt that the owner could not work. He 
thoroughly conquered an eighteen year old Mare that had not been shod for years so 
that she meekly submitted to be shod. We, as members of his class, can cheerfully 
recommend him as a master workman, and worthy of patronage in his profession, 
A. R. Renner, Benjamin Thuma, J. B. Fagan, 

Wm. Kerr, Wm. Noonan, Thomas Brown, 

Henry Jay, Henry Blackmore, John Hale, 

S. N. Fennel, New Waverly, Ind., George W. Beck. 



Frof. Beery will commence with a cla.ss in Horse training in Laura, O., on 
Monday evening, August 5lh. Mr. Beery has won, and justly too, such a reputation 
among our people that it is only necessary to say to them that he is coming, and it 
insures him a hearing. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 173 

Prof Beery, Pleasant Hill, closed his term of Horse training at Laura, Saturday 
evening. He had a class of one hundred scholars. His large tent was crowded each 
night. Mr, Beery is a success. 



How TO Break Vicious Horses. — Prof. Jesse Beery will instruct a class on 
Horsemanship in a large tent at Covington, on Tnursday evening, November 7th, at 
7:30. The course of lessons will continue each evening for five evenings. Please 
bring out your bad Horses, as they will be handled for the class free of charge. — 
There will be a number of all kinds of dispositions and characters of Horses handled, 
viz: kickers, bulkers, shyers, run-a-ways, etc. Terms for a course of five lessons only 
one dollar and a half . 

Later. — Having been members of Prof. Jesse Beery's class in Horse training at 
Covington, we heartily endorse his work, both as practical and reasonable, and rec- 
ommend his lectures to ail who would educate the Horse to love and obey his master. 
L. D. Falconer, Joshua Grubb, John Cassel, 



174 



JESSE BEERY S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



Dr. John Harrison, 
I. D. Hickman, 
Jot Folckemer, 
H.J. Perry, 
S. Mowery, 
Levi Falknor, 
M. Koon, 
A. E. Williams, 
Ira Mohler, 
James D. Rike, 
John F. Etter, 
Howard N. Brown, 
R. M. Deeter, 



Dr. H. D. Rinehart, 
Henry Landis, 
John E. Billingsby, 
CM. Albaugh. 
Samuel Hart, 
N. H. Tobias, 
Adam H. Jones, 
J. W. Freshour, 
H. Mohler, 
Geo. Lindsay, 
Asberry Basill, 
Perry C. Rateliil", 
Sen. A. C. Cable, 



A. C. Deweese, 
R. M. Shellaberger, 
F. M. Perry, 
C. B. Fletcher. 
John Fox, 
John Tobias, 
S. B. Reiber, 
Abe Deeter, 
Henry Spitler, 
N. N. Kreugbaum, 
Ira W. Jones, 
W. C. Murry, 
Dr. A. S. Rosenberger. 






The undersigned, at Troy, ()., take pleasure in bearing testimony to the skill of 



I 



JESSE BEERy'S practical SYSTEM OP COLT TRAINING. ITS 

Mr. Jesse Beery, of Pleasant Hill, O., in educating Colts and training bad Horses. 
We have seen the good of his work on green Colts, haltor pullers, kickers, shyers, 
Horses bad to shoe, etc., and know that the impressions made arc lasting. Any Horse 
that has come through his system of training comes out obedient, gentle, and greatly 
enhanced in value. 

Col. O. H. Binkley, Geo. E. McKaig, W. A. Eddy, 

E. E. Moore, Grant Myers, Peter Brown, 

Aarou Deeter, W. J. Hall, Mrs. H. A. Dye, 

S. J. McCurdy, Frank Sewell, G. W. Graham, 

C. D. Miller, C. Y. Hottel, E. D. Hottel, 

C. F. Miller, C. L. Westhoven, AV. I. Tenny, 

A. F. Broomhall, John Landry. 



At Phillipsburg I instructed the largest class that I ever made, some evenings 
having more than my tent would hold, and it has seating capacity for three hundred 



176 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

people. There were a number of men fifty and sixty years old in my class, who 
indorsed ray system, but I will only mention the names of a few who are interested 
the most in Horses: 

Wc, the undersigned, have attended Prof. Jesse Beery 's lecture on the education 
of Colts and vicious Hor.ses, nt Phillipsburg, O., and have been greatly instructed. 
His wonderful success proves that his ."system of training exceeds all others-, and the 
practical illustration of the same receives our hearty endorsement. Mr. Beery de- 
serves respect and esteem for his valuable instructions in the management of Horses, 
and we wish to show our appreciation of his good work by heartily recommending his 
system to the public. 

J. E. Barnes, Wm. Detrick, J. R. Lees, 

I. N. Becker, S. E. Folkereth, J. H. Falknour, 

J. S. Becker, L. Pearson, L, B. Harley, 

E. Pearson, Esta Folkereth, , L. Harman, 

H. O. Landis, D. Heisey, Casper Price, 

D. B. Crow, C. C. Kossler, D. H. Warner, 



JESSE BEERy's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 



177 



Abe Emrick, 

M. D. S Hutchinson, 

Harvey Klepinger, 

N. W. Rinebart, 

Sam. Sbelley, 

PI W. Spitler, 

A. E. Hickman, 

J. C. Cams, 

C'. E. Wagner, 

Tbeo. Falknor, 



David Isenbarger, 
Samuel Heisey, 
David Hess, 
Ellis Gray, 
F. O. Thomas, 
Chas. Anderson, 
John Spitler, Sr., 
B. F. Spitler, 
D. C. Falknor, 
S. Binkley, ' 
Aaron Dohner. 



Albert Albaugh, 
Adam Minnick, 
Adam Thomas, 
Geo. Waybright, 
Elmer Shelleberger, 
Harvey Hay worth, 
W. J. Puraphrey, 
Samuel Weaver, 
Isaiah Oaks, 
Wm. F. Wagner, 



The last class given before writing this book was at Piqua, O., in the Ideal 
Rink, where I handled a number of extremely bad Horses. The following was iu 
the " Dispatch :" 



178 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

Horse Training Exhibition. — Prof. Beery's Wonderful Hanj;Ling of 
Vicious Animals. — Prof. J. Beery, who is now instructing a class iu the handling 
of Horses of a vicious nature, is one of the most remarkable Horsemen that it has 
been our lot to have seen. D. H. Heater, Esq., the popular Main Street grocer, is 
enthusiastic in his praise of Prof. Beery, and says that in all his experience he has 
never seen his equal, and that he has witnessed the performance given by Prof. 
Warner, Prof. York, and others, and between them there is no comparison. Mr. 
Heater is a Horseman himself, and knows whereof he sjieaks. Last night Prof. 
Beery handled Prof. Wm. McMaken'stwo year old Colt, John Daber's three year 
old, the kicking, biting and striking Pony owned by James Hilliard, an animal noted 
for its viciousness, besides the "Warwick Horse," an animal that would run at the 
drop of the hat. Every one of these were subdued and made almost as gentle as 
lambs. No body should fail to see this wonderful performance. 



FROM THE editors OF THE "DISPATCH. 

Wonderful Horse Training. — A wonderful exhibition of Horse training is 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 179 

now in j)rogress at the Ideal Rink, given by Prof. Beery. Last night this gentle- 
man subdued the vicious Hilliard Pony, which had to be led into the Rink by a rope 
about twenty-five feet long. In about three quarters of an hour the Professor had 
the animal under complete control, and it was gentle as a lamb. He has a number 
of other Horses of a vicious nature that he will subdue. This morning he exhibited 
in front of the Dispatch office, a three year old, driven to a buggy without the use of 
lines, and so completely was it under control, that it could be driven any where by 
signs of the whip. He is a wonderful Horseman. 



The previous extracts, notices, and recommendations, together with a number of 
others, have all been obtained within a radius of twenty miles from where I was born 
and raised. I always made it a point to satisfy every man whose Horse I trained. 
Some of the first Horses that I broke I made no charge at all, although the owners 
wanted to pay me for my work. I took their Horses partially to experiment upon, 
and gained enough knowledge pertaining to the art to repay me for my work. Often- 
times men, through carelessness, would let their Horses get the advantage of them, 



180 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

and fall into their old habits, when I would take them back and make them gentle 
again without charge. However, I am glad to say that they were very few that were 
necessary for me to take back. My patrons commenced talking for me, which was 
the best kind of advertising, and in this way I soon had more Horses to educate than 
I could handle. I think I would be justified in saying that when I quit training 
Horses at home I pould have had at command five times as many Colts and Horses as 
would have been possible for any one man to handle. 

I will say right here that I am indeed grateful to my neighbors and many friends, 
who, after looking at my theory and system of training from a rational stand point, 
gave me great encouragement in my efforts. It seemed that the very parties that 
"hooted" and made the most light of my work at first, after being in one of my class- 
es changed their views, and did a great deal more good in my behalf than parties who 
never opposed me. 

I am often asked whether I teach Horses to perform tricks. As training a Horse 
to perform tricks is not very practical to the Horse owner generally, I have never prac- 
ticed teaching them in this way much. Of course when a young man owns a nice lit- 




CHARLEY AS HE WAS ALWAYS DRIVEN. 



182 Jesse beeRy's practical system of colt TRAtiTi*fG. 

tie Horse, and has taught him a few tricks, such as following, shaking hands, lying 
down, etc., it makes him appear more tractable and intelligent than he otherwise 
would. About two years ago when I parted with the ugly Colt that I had trained to 
drive without lines, I purchased a well bred two year old Hambletonian Colt, which 
was exceedingly nervy, but didn't have a great deal more brain than the other Colt. 
However, I made up my mind to drive him without lines. After teaching him the 
signals of the whip for a couple of weeks, I hitched him up for the first time he was 
ever driven. I drove him by the motion of the whip, without the use of lines, and 
have been driving him in that way ever since. It being the first Colt that I had ever 
heard of being driven in this way, without having first been driven with lines, I 
thought it quite a feat, especially on account of him having so much natural fear of 
almost every conceivable object. I controlled him with the motion of the whip, when 
it would have been almost impossible for any one to have managed him with the lines 
in the ordinary way. Sometimes he would get so intensely frightened that he would 
fairly tremble, yet he would obey the whip, and march right up and feel of the ob- 
ject with his nose. I have driven him some of the darkest nights without bridle or 



JESSE BEERY's practical SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. l85 

lines, controlling him by commands. He knew right from left. When I would 
want him to turn, I would give the command right or left. He would turn as quickly 
at the word of command as by a signal of the whip. But all his training is nothing 
compared with the extent of which a Horse is* capable of being educated. Persons 
having attended Prof. Bartholomew's exhibitions given with his troop of educated 
Horses can more fully comprehend the extent or degree of which a Horse is capable 
of being educated. Now, if it is possible to teach and educate a Horse to such a 
point, why cannot you teach them to obey the few commands necessary for their gen- 
eral use, and prevent or overcome the many vices which they are liable to fall into 
when carelessly managed. 



It was for a long time that I could not find an assistant that could manage Horses 
or help me with my business, although I tried a number of persons, but was never 
successful until a short time ago, when I found a person who was perfectly willing to 
share all the joys and pleasures, losses and gains, and on the twenty -fifth day of De- 



l86 JESSE BEERY 'S PRACtlCAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAtNli^G. 

cember, 1889, we made au agreeraeut or contract, for life. The following demon- 
strates the contract: 

Beery— CoppocK. — At the Christian church in Pleasant Hill, 0.,on Christmas 
evening, 1889, by Rev. O, P. Furnas, Prof. Jesse Beery and Miss Meda Coppock. 
The wedding had been previously announced, and was witnessed by a crowded house. 
Mr. A. J. Lauver, of Dayton, and Miss Kate Wefler, of Covington, were the attend- 
ants, and Messrs. Amos Sloan, Omer Patty, Chas. E. Minton, and Chas. C. Reiber 
were the escorts to and from the altar. The Sabbath School class to which the bride 
belonged, together with the teacher, Mr. Nathan Hill, l)cautifully decorated the 
church, and erected an arch on which were inscribed the names "Beery-Coppock," 
with two white doves in the center, with heads together. At a little after six o'clock, 
P. M., the class entered the church and filled the space allotted to them, Miss Sallie 
Jay presiding at the organ. The Coppock and Beery families filled the seatsinfront of 
thearch, and at 0:35 the wedding march pealed forth and the wedding party made their 
appearance and were escorted to the altar, where the beautiful and impressive ceremo- 
ny was performed by the pastor. At the home of the bride's parents an elegant repast 
awaited the invited guests, to which all did ample justice. 



JESSE BEERY 'S PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF COLT TRAINING. 1(^7 

And I am happy to say that ever since this contract has been formed, I have 
been encouraged and greatly assisted in my profession, and only trust we may do 
much good in the future, in behalf of the Horse and Horse owner. 



While this book is not a large one, it contains more information on training 
Horses than almost any other book published on the subject. There are other larger 
books that are said to be Horse training books, yet are largely made up with Veterin- 
ary departments and other reading matter that does not pertain to the education of 
the Horse at all. I am often asked why I don't study Veterinary Surgery in con- 
nection with Horse training. My answer is simply this: I have already undertak- 
en all that is possible for one man to master. "Horse training" and "Horse Doctor- 
ing" are two professions, and are as far apart as farming is from practicing law. And 
in my estimation it is impossible for any one man to thoroughly master two profes- 
sions. He will invariably make one secondary to the other, and in most cases he will 
make a complete failure of both. It has been my full desire and aim to thoroughly 



188 JESSE beery's practical system of colt training. 

master the art of coutrolling and educating Horses; consequently J have dropped 
every thing else. I have been and always expect to devote my whole time to the 
profession of Horse training. Therefore those who read this little book will not need 
to expect any thing except solid, practical information pertaining to the disposition, 
vices and education of the Horse. When it is engaged in with the sense of responsi- 
bility, care and skill which it demands, it is in reality worthy of being ranked among 
the most important, interesting, and elevating of the professions. 



I will leave the subject with you for the present, hoping, after I get to a still 
higher point in the profession, to have this book revised, and give you the benefit of 
my further experience and knowledge of the subject. 

Any special information being desired on the management of the Horse, I wish 
to say it can be obtained through my address, Pleasant Hill, Ohio. 

Your Obedient Servant, 

JESSE BEERY. 



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